A Little Sun in the Land of Clouds
by StrawberryDippedInChocolate
Summary: What if Bella isn't the only new student at the school? How will the Cullens react when a certain ginger strawberry comes into their school? Surely Bella is significant due to the fact that Edward can't read her mind and many other things, but this new boy is just a walking mystery. My first fic, sorry for the mistakes if there are any. Please no flaming.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: What if Bella isn't the only new student at the school? How will the Cullens react when a certain ginger strawberry comes into their school? Surely Bella is significant due to the fact that Edward can't read her mind and not only that, but this new boy is just a walking mystery. He moved from Japan all the way to U.S. to a town such as Forks. What had he lost in this gloomy place? Also there's something about that hair which doesn't give the vampires a break, and something about the air around him.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Twilight or any other anime/show I might include in the story.

A Little Sun in the Land of Clouds

Ichigo sat in the front passenger seat of his father's car. He relaxed in the seat, his head turned a bit to the side as he absently stared out the window at the passing surroundings. He had his silvery grey Beats on his head booming his favorite rock band in his ears, his phone in his left front pocket. It was several weeks ago when his father finally announced that he decided to move to the U.S. Ichigo of course protested, but his two sisters didn't seem to be that upset. Well Karin didn't care too much for the most part aside from having to leave her friends behind, and Yuzu was excited.

Thoughts ran through Ichigo's mind, leaving the music in the back ground. He thought of his home where he grew up, his friends who he left behind, and his mother's grave which he wouldn't be able to visit now as often. Another reason was also the memories that Karakura held: his memories of him being the soul reaper. Somehow leaving Japan felt like losing something precious. He might've had chances of running into Rukia or Renji while they were in their gigais if he stayed, but now he was rid of that chance. No matter the small size of it, he still had it while he was in Japan. He wondered if the Soul Reapers noticed his absence. What would be their reactions? Aside from his father who drove the car while humming to some English song on the radio and wearing a smile, and his sisters in the back who were currently busy discussing how their new home would look like, what people they would meet, and what new places they would see, Ichigo seemed to be the only gloomy seeming passenger. He closed his eyes for a brief moment and let out a long sigh. Yuzu noticed her brother's not-so-happy mood.

"Aw, Ichi-nii, don't be so gloomy, brighten up. You're in another country which will bring tons of new experience and encounters, isn't that exciting?" Yuzu spoke up in her usual happy voice.

"Sorry, Yuzu. It's just the weather." Ichigo turned his head to look at his sister in the back seat as he replied with a small smile.

"Don't worry, Ichi-nii. You still have Skype; you can chat with your friends back in Japan." Karin tried to cheer her brother up as well. She as usual wore her calm, solemn expression, but everyone knew she was a little excited inside.

"Cheer up, Ichigo. Nothing is always easy at first try, but you'll get used to it." His father tried to cheer Ichigo up as well.

"Oh yes, the one thing that I can truly be happy about is that I won't be kicked and punched all the time by you. The people would misunderstand. And the last time I checked, we live next to a Chief of Police." Ichigo said with a smirk, only for it to grow more as his father seemed to pout at the thought of the inability to check on his son's reflexes as he was usually able to.

Ichigo let out another sigh as he returned his gaze to the outside. The sky was thickly coated in greyish white clouds. The rain was soft and fell in small drops. Such was the typical weather of the town Forks in Washington where they would live from now on. The pine tree forests were thick with their trees tall. Yuzu and Karin looked at the woods in amazement at the beautiful and different nature.

"Dad, does this forest have wolves?" Karin asked as she looked at her father.

Isshin glanced in the rearview mirror at his daughter. "Truly I don't know, Karin. But the statistics don't show any aggressive attacks by predators in this town so I'm sure we'll be fine."

Karin let out a sigh and returned her gaze to the outside. Yuzu seemed to frown a bit.

"Is it always this rainy in Forks, dad?" Yuzu asked with slight disappointment in her voice.

"Unfortunately, yes. But it's not always like this." Her father replied, keeping his eyes on the road. Finally the forest came to an end and they were nearing buildings and streets. Yuzu seemed to pout a bit, but soon her disappointment was replaced by excitement again as she looked at the houses outside.

The Kurosaki family drove down the street on which their house was and made a turn from the drive way onto the territory of their house and stopped in front of the garage. A man was standing on the side walk in front of a neighboring house. He was 6'0 tall, with pale skin, brown curly hair, and a somewhat tired look on his face. Isshin got out of the car, followed by Ichigo. Isshin raised a hand in greeting and gave nod to the man who was now his neighbor. The man did the same. Then he walked up to Isshin, stopping a meter away.

"Hello, Charlie. It is nice to meet you again." Isshin greeted the man he came to know a year ago when he traveled to Washington for a meeting. The man named Charlie gave a nod. Karin and Yuzu climbed out the car on Ichigo's side. They both gave a polite nod, Yuzu even smiled a bit, which was actually no surprise since it was in her bright nature to greet warmly. "These are my daughters, Yuzu and Karin. And that is my son, Ichigo." Isshin introduced his children showing to each one with a hand as he introduced them. Ichigo paused his music and pulled his headphones down so they'd be around his neck. Charlie gave a nod to Ichigo and extended a hand to him for a handshake which Ichigo shook and nodded as well.

"Well, if you need anything don't hesitate to ask. Also if you have any trouble with something or something, inform me and I'll be happy to help." Charlie spoke, with his hands in his pockets. "My daughter should be back from school in a few hours. It would be nice to have you with us for dinner."

"Oh, we will come. Just got a few packages to unpack." Isshin spoke.

"If you need any help move the furniture I'll help out. My old friend is coming here for a short visit and he'll be bringing his son with him." Charlie spoke, offering his help.

"We don't want to burden you. But if we need an extra hand we will call." Isshin replied. With that Charlie gave a nod and went back to his house. The furniture was already in the house but it still had to be moved around a bit and other things had to be unpacked. Isshin gave the house keys to Karin so that the two girls would go and open the door and take a look inside. Then he opened the trunk of his car and with Ichigo's help, carried in a few bags which the family took with them on their trip.

Ichigo had finished helping his father carry heavy things and move the furniture in the rooms of the house which were the kitchen, dining room, and Isshin's office. The rest unpacking was on the two sisters and their father as Ichigo was finally free to go and arrange his room. He walked inside and took a look around. It was slightly larger than what he had back in Japan, he liked that. He inhaled the air, trying to get used to the new atmosphere in the room. The air was somewhat chilly. Another good part was that his room had an adjusted bathroom. That was perfect! He sighed, and then started to think on the arrangement of the furniture. He wondered if he wanted to try out some new arrangement, but then decided to stick to the old one.

After having arranged his furniture and unpacked all of his stuff and put it into place, he stood in the middle of his room, taking a look around. He smirked with satisfaction. Maybe he will like this place a little bit.

* * *

To be conitnued~

Warning: This fic is rated T for language and fighting. There are some emotional scenes were you might think it's yaoi, it's not. That doesn't fit in this story at all. But if you are comfortable that way, you can think of it as shounen-ai, though I didn't plan it to be that either. Romance between men doesn't fit in this story so much, at least as one of the focuses in the story. There might be some homosexual side characters in the story just to add some variety to it, but not main ones.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Ichigo spent the rest of the hours in his room. He laid on his bed on his front, his headphones booming Survival by Eminem into his head as he looked over the pictures of himself and his friends on his phone. He let out a sigh and hung his head. Then he heard the engine of a car pass by his house and then the car pull up to the neighboring house. Though it sounded more like a truck. Then he heard Yuzu shout from the first floor.

"Ichi-nii! I need your help! Please come down!" Yuzu shouted.

"Be right there!" Ichigo shouted back. He paused his music and removed his headphones from his head, leaving them and his phone on the bed. Then he got up and went out of his room and down to the kitchen on the first floor. "What's up?" He asked as he peered in from the door way.

"Ichi-nii, Karin and I were pouring some marbles into the glass vase with the fake flowers and a few rolled under the counter. We can't reach them and dad is busy with the car. Could you please help us?" Yuzu asked.

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo replied. He came to the counter to which Karin pointed after stepping aside, and knelt on the floor, then leaned down to look under the counter. "Ah, I see them." He pulled up the right sleeve of his tight dark violet shirt and reached under the counter. It was hard for a bit due to his enlarged muscles from all the time he trained his ass off as a Shinigami. With some effort he got them in the end and got up. "Here." He handed them to Yuzu.

"Thank you, nii-san." Yuzu took them with a smile and put them into the small, glass, pot-like vase which held some fake tulips.

Karin looked at the clock. "It's 4 p.m., time sure flies by fast."

"Don't worry, Karin. You'll soon ger used to it." Yuzu reassured. Ichigo grimaced a bit and put a hand on his forehead from the sudden pain shocking his jet-lagged brain. "Is everything all right, Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asked with concern.

"Yeah... Just tired." Ichigo replied.

"It's because you have your music booming full volume into your head." Karin said with crossed arms. "Go take a nap."

Ichigo smirked and ruffled Karin's hair to which she huffed and then straightened it again. He went up to his room and closed the door. He put his phone and head phones on the desk beside his bed and plopped down on his back. He lay there for a while staring up at the ceiling. Surely it wasn't any normal headache. It felt oh so familiar... Like when you get a feel of Reiatsu. "Ugh..." He groaned covering his face with his hands. There's no way he could feel Reiatsu. He lost his powers after the Winter War. But as he gave it more thought, it was kind of convenient that they left after the Winter War, he could start all over again. He sighed and turned on his side. After staring at the wall in front of his face for a while he closed his eyes and drifted off.

"Ichigooooo~" Came Isshin's voice from the other side of Ichigo's door. Ichigo's eyes shot open and he wore a look of annoyance. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. What was it with all the sighing today? He surely didn't sigh that often.

"What is it, you old fart?" Ichigo asked with annoyance in his voice, making him sound harsh.

"It's time. Remember our neighbor was kind enough to invite us for dinner at his house? Well the time has come!" Isshin said in a cheery voice.

"What are you so happy about? And do I really have to come?" Ichigo questioned with annoyance.

"Yes, you have to! You don't want your neighbors to have a bad impression of you on the first day! Besides, his daughter is a cutie~" The last words had a familiar tune to them.

"Shut up, you pervert!" Ichigo opened his door and threw a book at Isshin which struck him square in the nose. "Moving into a new place doesn't mean you can start your life all over like you made it sound just now." Then Ichigo shut his door.

"Ugh, Ichigo, so harsh..." Isshin pouted while rubbing his nose. "Is it about Rukia? Or Orihime? Or Tatsuki? Or any other of those girls you brought home a few times? I remember that busty blonde(no offense to blondes, I'm talking about Rangiku here) you once brought!" Isshin said loudly. Ichigo's door opened again. He inhaled through his nose, his eyes wide, but instead of holding a ton of books as one would expect him to, he was holding up a whole book-case. Isshin's eyes widened. "Wow, wow, wow! Ichigo! What was it you said about living next to a Chief of Police?"

Ichigo set the book-case down, but then snatched a book and stomped to his father. He smacked his face with the book a few times and then kicked him down the stairs. He then picked up the book he threw earlier and went back into his room, slamming the door.

"Ugh, mean Ichigo..." Isshin pouted as he lay on the floor on the first floor with his ass up from the way he landed.

"That's what you get for being a pervert, old man." Karin stated with her arms crossed.

"Karin~" Isshin turned his head to look at his daughter with a kicked puppy expression on his face.

"That's right, dad! We don't want to put a bad impression on our neighbors!" Yuzu said as she came up to her sister and father.

"Yuzu, not you too." Isshin sniffled.

"Come on, dad. Get up." Karin said as she walked away. Yuzu decided to prepare some sushi for their new neighbors as a token of gratitude for their kindness. Ichigo came down the stairs, having changed into something more appropriate. Everyone dressed up. His father in a suit, Yuzu in a light coffee brown dress with golden flowers which had lantern sleeves and went to her knees, Karin took the effort as well. She put on something different from her usual sportive attire. She wore a pair of jeans shorts, high tops, a dark green t-shirt, and a jeans vest. Ichigo wore black tight jeans, black moccasins, though his shirt he saw no need to change. Now that the family was ready, they walked out of their house. Thankfully it stopped raining.

A knock came on the Swan family's door. "Coming!" Came a young female voice. The door was opened by a 17-year-old girl. Like her father she had curly hair. Though it was longer and more curly, obviously. But she was a bit paler than him. Also had his brown eyes. She wore a dark blue shirt and dark jeans. "Oh hello." She managed a smile. "You're our new neighbors."

"Yes we are." Isshin said with a grin. Karin elbowed him in the side a bit at his behavior. The girl before them seemed a bit uneasy but she still smiled.

"Well come on in." She stepped aside letting the Kurosakis through.

Yuzu came in last. She stopped near her and held out a plastic container. "I made some sushi as a thank you for your kindness."

"Oh, how darling. Thank you, huney." Bella smiled. She took the container. Yuzu bowed and then followed after her family into the dining room where Charlie waited for Isshin and his family. Bella closed the door. She looked at the container and went into the kitchen. She opened it and gasped. Of course she saw sushi before and once even tried, but this was just so neatly made and so tasty looking. They were really made with skilled hands and a lot of effort. She smiled a bit, then decided to put them on a plate.

"Let me introduce you, this is my friend Billy Black," Charlie introduced the man in a wheelchair who seemed to be a native American, or at least of such decent. "And this is his grandson Jacob Black." He introduced a male who was standing not too far from his grandfather. He had his arms crossed but nodded in greeting. He had noticeable, trained muscles and a somewhat animalistic look in his eyes? Ichigo didn't know what it was, but the air around the teen didn't seem like around a normal human. Whatever it was, he shook it off. "Well, now that we are all here, let us take a seat at the table?" Charlie motioned to the dining room. "Please sit where you want."

Bella came in from the kitchen holding a plate with sushi. "Hey dad, we have been given these delicious sushi and I thought it might be a good idea to include them to the table tonight." Bella suggested.

"Of course huney, why not." Charlie agreed.

Bella set the plate on the table. Yuzu and Karin were to sit first. They took two spots which were in the middle. Ichigo sat near Karin and Isshin near Yuzu. Across from Ichigo sat Jacob, Bella at his side, Charlie beside her, and beside him was Billy.

The rest of the evening was spent in warm conversation, mostly between Isshin, Yuzu, Karin, Billy, and Charlie. They were the talkative ones. Ichigo seemed to be quiet unless he was asked something. And when he was he'd speak briefly. Jacob for the most part did the same, as well as Bella, but Jacob seemed to watch Ichigo closely. Something about that teen was not right. He narrowed his eyes a bit.

"Hey, Ichigo. Sorry if the question might seem rude, but may I ask?" Jacob asked.

"Sure." Ichigo already knew what was coming.

"You hair... Why do you dy it in such a shade?" Jacob asked.

Ichigo let out a sigh, again. "It's natural."

"Really?" The Swans and the Blacks seemed to be caught by surprise by such an answer.

"Yes, it comes from his mother's side." Isshin spoke.

"Oh?" Charlie looked at him, along with the other three.

"Yes, she had some European blood in her from far away ancestors." Isshin lied. He knew the real answer why Ichigo's hair was the shade that it was.

"Oh, interesting." Billy said. "May I ask where she is?" Judging by the change in the expressions of the 4 across the table, the other 4 understood that was not a good question.

"Unfortunately, she was unable to come." Isshin answered. Slight uneasiness mixed with sadness in his voice.

"Oh, please forgive me. I shouldn't have asked." Billy apologized.

"Oh no, it is perfectly fine." Isshin reassured with a slight smile. Then they all carried on in their conversing, aside from the three older teens. Jacob seemed to notice that Ichigo became more uneasy and...sad? Judging by the aura he concluded that whatever was the reason for the mother's absence had to do with him.

After 2 warm hours of food and conversation, finally the Kurosakis departed to their house. Charlie saw them out while Jacob and Bella cleaned the table. Billy was simply in his wheel chair near the window, looking out at the departing figures. Jacob walked up to him.

"You noticed it too, didn't you?" Jacob asked.

"Yes." Billy replied.

"The hair isn't even what's strange." Jacob said.

"It's the aura." Billy said.

"What is he?" Jacob asked, looking at Ichigo before the ginger entered his house.

"Truthfully, I don't know." Billy watched Ichigo too, till the door closed. Then he looked at Jacob. "But I know it's nothing good." He then rolled away to Charlie who had turned on the tv. The football just started. Jacob took another glance at the opposite house before turning and going into the kitchen to Bella who was currently putting some dishes and cups into the dishwasher.

"Hey, Bella." Jacob said as he leaned with the back of his waist against a counter.

"Yes?" Bella asked, proceeding with packing the dishwasher with dishes.

"I want you to stay away from Ichigo." Jacob said.

Bella looked up and stood up straight, closing the dish washer and turning it on. "Why?" She looked at him.

"Because he isn't normal." Jacob explained.

"If it's the hair then I don't think that's a good enough reason to not be friends with him." Bella said with a slightly raised brow.

"It's not the hair, it has nothing to do with the hair." Jacob shook his head.

"Then what is it?" Bella asked.

"It's the air around him." Jacob said as he looked at her.

"Is he a vampire?" Bella asked, somewhat expecting an answer yes, but not the opposite.

"No." Jacob answered.

"Then what is he?" Bella asked.

"Something else... Something the wolves haven't encountered yet."

"How do you know?"

"Because Billy says he doesn't know what he is."

"I see." She looked at him. "Then what do I do? I mean...We're neighbors."

"Just don't get too close to him."

"Alright."

Ichigo had showered and changed into his dark grey pajama pants and a dark blue shirt. He plopped down on his bed and let out a sigh, staring up at the ceiling. Tomorrow was school... But thankfully it was Friday so he had the weekend to get used to the place ahead of him. He pulled his covers over him and closed his eyes, falling asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Cullens were getting ready to head out to school. Alice walked to the living room to get her bag from the couch. As she turned she froze on the spot with a gasp as a vision ran through her mind. Jasper's eyes widened a bit and he quickly pulled her to sit down on the couch, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Alice? What is it? What did you see?" He asked with concern in his voice.

Alice kept staring ahead with almost a horrified look as she gasped for air. Once she was out of it, her features relaxed and she was softly panting. It was unusual for vampires to gasp or pant, or breathe at all. They didn't need to breathe. But in moments of stress or surprise they find their human side reminding them of itself, and that's painful to be reminded of what they lost forever and would never gain back. Alice looked at Carlisle.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked.

"I saw the near future... We just came to school... And there was a boy... A strange boy. He came to school with Bella in her truck... He's a foreigner and... Something about that hair..." Alice said the last part with slight confusion.

"Hair?" Emmett asked. "What? Is he an ape?" Everyone gave him a look. "What? I'm just asking. She said something about his hair."

"Alright, Emmett, let her finish." Rose stopped him from talking so that Alice could finish.

"Please continue, Alice." Carlisle urged her.

"Well... I don't know. I know he is here and we'll see him very soon. But... We won't know anything for sure until we see him." Alice looked at everyone.

"Alright, then let's hurry to school so that I can take a look at him." Edward said as he came down the stairs.

With that, the vampire high schoolers who were not high schoolers at all, headed out to high school for a thousandth time in their '17 years'.

* * *

Ichigo woke up to the alarm of his phone. He groaned at the annoying beeping and snatched his phone off the desk near his bed and pressed 'Stop' on the touch screen. He huffed and laid there for a bit, giving himself a moment to wake up properly. With a sigh he sat up and moved to sit on the edge of the bed. He put the phone down on his desk and stretched with a yawn. He got up and trudged to the bathroom, all the way there rubbing his eyes.

After exiting the bathroom he got to dressing. He put on a pair of dark tight jeans, a brown jeans belt, a dark, swampy-green, tight t-shirt with a dark, silvery-grey picture of a screaming skull. For shoes he wore his black high tops. He grabbed his bag which now held only notebooks for each class, excluding P.E., and his schedule.

He went down the stairs to the first floor where Yuzu had already prepared breakfast and his lunch for school. "Hey, busy bee." Ichigo took a chance to softly ruffle Yuzu's hair as she was rushing back and forth.

"Morning, nii-san." Yuzu said with a smile even though she was in a hurry.

Karin was already at the table. She raised a hand. "Yo."

Ichigo dropped his bag on the floor beside his chair and took a seat. After breakfast he walked out the door after shouting a 'good-bye' to his sisters. His father was still asleep so Karin had to go wake him.

As he walked down the steps and stood on the sidewalk, he looked around. Then he heard someone calling him.

"Hey, Ichigo." Bella called him from the front of her house where she stood near her truck.

He turned to looked at her. "Morning, Isabella."

"Just call me Bella."

"Alright, Bella."

"Hey, do you need a ride to school?"

"I can walk."

"It's pretty far from here."

"I'm a fast runner. Gonna be my morning jog."

Bella smiled. "Come on, I'll give you a ride and show you the way to school."

"Alright." Ichigo agreed.

She smiled softly and sat in the driver's seat while he sat next to her in the passenger seat. Then the two of them drove off. Ichigo noticed the state of the truck but didn't pay much mind to it. At least the engine sounded well working.


	4. Chapter 4

For those of you who have trouble understanding at what time this fic is set, I'll explain. The time setting is between Bella's first encounter with Victoria and her two vampire friends and before the strange deaths in Seattle.

Chapter 4

The second Ichigo stepped out of Bella's truck was the second everyone turned to look, and he knew why. The least thing anyone expected was such brightness on a cloudy day such as today. The weather seemed especially sad this morning. The sky was thickly coated in dark grey clouds, and yet here came this sun shine. The Cullens had their eyes on him and the second they saw him they knew he was the one Alice saw. Alice gasped. The vampires seemed to be especially captivated by him. His spiky hair looked like it was made like that with a spray or something, or so it seemed to the human eye. The vampires though straight away knew it was natural. Though it took them a moment to realise the color was natural as well. His hair was literally the color of an orange and seemed fiery with that golden shine to it. His skin seemed to be pale in comparison to his hair and with a slightly pearly shine that only the vampires noticed. Something about those eyes seemed captivating as well. They were a light, brown-ish yellow, and so serious and filled with determination. Also... experience and wisdom? Something like that.

Rose bit her lip. "He's actually hot." She admitted out loud. Indeed, he was. He was almost as tall as Edward and had a strong build. He had a lean body with well defined, toned muscles, wide shoulders, thin waist and hips, long legs. He would probably be accepted to be a model straight away if not begged to be.

Emmett looked at her. "So what, now I'm not good enough?"

Rose smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his neck seductively. "No baby, you're the best. I was just stating."

Alice smiled. "He will have to run from the girls."

Edward narrowed his eyes. "The girls might give Bella a hard time since she came with him." He said as he observed the students around and read their thoughts. "They'll start rumors that she's hanging out with all the hot guys and might push that to another level."

"Well she has you to protect her." Rose said.

"Yes... But I can't always protect her. She shouldn't have come with him." Edward looked at the ginger head. Jasper's eyes turned black. He intently watched the young male.

"Jasper?" Alice asked with concern. "Is everything alright."

"His scent... It's getting to me." Jasper said lowly through softly clenched teeth and Rose and Emmett looked at each other.

"If you don't think you can control yourself then you can go home now. I can come with you." Alice put a hand on Jasper's shoulder.

"No... I'm fine." Jasper clenched his fists and hurried off to class. The other vampires looked at each other and went after him to their classes. Edward looked at Ichigo as he went with his siblings. He couldn't read his mind. There was something in the way. It didn't feel the same as Bella's, it was much weaker, but still strong enough to not let Edward into his mind.

Bella walked with Ichigo to class. She looked at his schedule. The first 2 classes he had with her and Edward. The 3rd class he had with Emmett and Rose. The fourth he had with Alice and Jasper. Then the 5th and the 6th classes he had with Bella but none of the vampires. And the last two he had with Emmett. In a way she was glad that she had him with her for most of the classes. But she was troubled by the fact that he had Jasper. She noticed how the vampires looked at him, especially Jasper. At least Alice was with him. The two of them walked into the class right after the bell rang. Bella went to take her spot. The teacher walked in right after them.

"Alright class. Today we have a new student from Japan, please introduce yourself sir." He motioned to Ichigo.

Ichigo inhaled and spoke up. "Ichigo Kurosaki." Several girls squeaked at the tone of his voice. It was deep and melodic in a way. He would probably make a very good singer if he ever wished to be one, which he didn't.

"Alright, Ichigo. Go take a seat in front of Bella and Edward." The teacher motioned and Ichigo did as he was told. In a way Bella was glad that he sat in front of her. Edward eyed him from the back. Ichigo noticed the stare and turned back. Edward everted his eyes. Bella smiled softly and gave a slight nod. Ichigo glanced at Edward and then turned back.

Bella noticed Edward's behavior and leaned closer to him and whispered. "Is everything alright?"

"It's nothing." Edward replied. He had his head turned as if looking out the window but his eyes were on Ichigo. Ichigo shifted a bit under the gaze, knowing someone was lazering two holes in him but he didn't turn.

The first two lessons went by well. His neighbor shared his books with him, but by the end of the second period Bella was getting nervous. The next period was with Jasper and Alice and she knew how Jasper would have a hard time controlling himself because of how he looked at Ichigo in the morning. She let out a sigh as she packed her things in her bag. Edward noticed the sigh but didn't say anything. Then Bella came up to Ichigo.

"Hey, I'll show you to the next class, mine is next to it." She offered with a smile.

"Oh, sure." Ichigo replied with a slight smirk. Then the two of them departed for their next classes, with Edward behind them. Alice and Jasper were walking not too far behind and Jasper was staring at Ichigo's back intently with hunger in his eyes. Edward noticed his sibling's behavior and turned back only to see him staring at Ichigo with his black eyes. He swallowed and looked at Alice who gave him a nod of understanding the situation. Edward stopped to wait till Alice and Jasper reached him. He grabbed Jasper by his arm just as he passed by, stopping him. All the while Jasper kept staring after Ichigo.

Edward whispered to him. "You need to go home."

"I said I'm fine." Jasper said with a slight growl and jerked his arm away roughly. Then he continued walking with Alice, pulling her behind him. Edward watched them hurry away, mostly Jasper. Jasper gave a slight snarl.

Ichigo walked into his class and looked for a spot. A girl from his first period came up to him. "Hey, Ichigo. Do you wanna sit with me? There's a free spot beside me." She said with a smile.

Ichigo inhaled. "Ah, sure." He followed her to her desk. A boy came into the room and noticed his girlfriend, the one who invited Ichigo to sit with her, was now 'two-timing' him. He narrowed his eyes. She looked at him and narrowed her eyes, then showed him her tongue. He let out a soft grunt and went to sit in another place, beside the girl his girlfriend once though he was 'two-timing' her with. That way he was getting back at her. She looked at him, then shrugged, which made him a bit angry. Ichigo noticed the exchange of body language between the two but didn't show much paying attention. But what was not so good in his case was that he sat in front of Alice and Jasper. Jasper narrowed his eyes at him and softly growled, his eyes going blacker. Alice nervously looked at Jasper, then at Ichigo. Jasper was ready to lunge at Ichigo and Alice ready to stop Jasper at all costs. Even if it meant throwing him out the window.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The class started. Ichigo did his best at paying attention to the teacher but the glaring from behind was just making it that much harder. The name of the girl who invited him to sit with her in place of her boyfriend was Emma. Her boyfriend's name was Jack. She glanced at Jack once in a while trying to see his behavior and if he was jealous, but he knew that she was doing that and was in fact making her jealous by talking to Rachel, the girl who Emma once thought Jack was two-timing her with. Emma narrowed her eyes, inside jealousy and anger built up. The teacher noticed the two chatter birds and called. "Yo, you two, go outside or save it for later. Eyes on the board now." Emma smiled at the pleasure of seeing the two get caught. Ichigo swallowed, he really was bugged by the intense gaze. Alice's eyes ran from Ichigo to Jasper.

"Jasper, honey. I think we should go and get some fresh air." Alice gently put a hand on Jasper's shoulder as she whispered to him softly. Jasper narrowed his eyes, his gaze at Ichigo intensifying and Ichigo visibly shivered. Jasper could hear the heart beat in Ichigo's chest, the soft rushing of the blood in his blood vessels. He sensed the nervousness and that just made it more unbearable. He would sure find it pleasurable to scare the kid to death and then feed on him to his shrieks of pain. He wondered what the kid's blood would taste like. He could only imagine, but he sure hoped that as good as it smelled, it was even more delicious.

As the teacher turned a few times during his explanations to the class he noticed how strange, in his point of view, Jasper behaved. Jasper literally seemed to drill holes in Ichigo with his intense glare, or at least was attempting to. "Jasper, you okay, buddy?"

No reply.

"Jasper?" The teacher asked again.

Jasper's eyes shot up from Ichigo's back to the teacher. The teacher jumped a bit at the gaze pointed at him and Ichigo felt relieved for a moment. Jasper looked at the teacher, then at Ichigo. He rose from his spot and as he passed by he kept his eyes on Ichigo. "I'll go to the nurse..." He then everted his eyes from the teen and left the class fast. Alice rose from her spot and hurried after Jasper.

"Hey Alice, I didn't give you permission to leave." The teacher said to her but she still left through the door, not paying a single 'middle finger' of attention to him.

Jasper sprinted fast down the hallways. He snarled, behaving like a total hungry beast now. Alice hurried after him, she was literally praying to herself that not a single human comes out on Jasper's path because if they did, it would be their last moment of life, and at the moment, Jasper didn't give a fudge about if he was seen or not. Hell, he wouldn't even care if it was sunny now, so hungry he was.

The front doors swung open as Jasper flew out of the building. The metal handles crashed hard into the brick walls and the sound was loud enough for all the school to hear. Alice exhaled. What good enough lie would the family have to come up with to save Jasper's ass?

He grunted and snarled as he printed through the parking lot and off the school grounds into the forest. His brain was fixed on finding an animal and fast so that he wouldn't have to make a sharp U-turn back to school and tear the ginger teen apart. Thankfully, he picked up a scent of an elk that grazed its leg. He let out a growl-like huff and sprinted in the direction of the animal.

Alice lost track of Jasper for a while, but when she finally picked up his trail and found him, she came to a slow stop to find the love of her immortal life having killed a whole family of elk. The mother and the father, along with 3 children, were sucked off blood so much they became skin and bones. Jasper was growling and breathing fast through his nose as he sucked the last of the 4th child. He let the limp body drop to the ground as he panted. Jeez, he was a mess. The lower half of his face was all in blood, tips of his hair were soaked in blood, and the front of his shirt was all in blood, along with his hands. He turned to look at Alice. She stood there looking up at him, keeping a distance of 4 meters. She swallowed, then appeared in front of him. Standing close she looked into his eyes as she softly touched his cheeks. She pressed her forehead to his and kissed his lips softly. They took a few moments for a sweet kiss before they broke it, but stood close looking into each other's eyes.

"You have no idea how close I was to devouring him..." Jasper breathed out. "I would've ruined him beyond recognition..."

"Shh, baby. It's going to be all right." Alice calmed him with words of comfort.

"I mean... Bella was a challenge and I still find it hard to be around her, but him... God, I'll have to move away as far as possible from here... And still I won't be able to get him off my mind..."

"Jasper, honey. You'll overcome this. I know this is hard, but consider it like another endurance test. And if you pass it, you will be able to be in full control of yourself in any situation."

"God really hates me."

"Don't say that honey..." Alice planted another kiss on Jasper's lips. "Let's go home now, we can talk this over with all of us later."

Jasper gave a nod.

"Do you wanna hunt more or are you good for now?" Alice asked with concern in her eyes.

"I think I'm good for now." Jasper nodded. They took hands and went back to their house in a blur.

* * *

The whole class looked for a while in silence at the open door. Then they started to whisper but then jumped in surprise once more as they heard the loud sound of the metal doors smashed against the walls. Ichigo knew something was not right with those model looking kids. They were too good-looking for humans and their skin color, hair color, and eyes seemed different from humans. He suspected them to be something else but now his suspicions were proven correct.

Edward and Bella in the next class also became aware of the situation, as well as Emmett and Rosalie on the different floor. But Edward was the first as he read Jasper's thoughts the whole time. The other two vampires became aware when they heard Jasper and Alice run down the hallways and saw them out the window later, and Bella became aware only after hearing the crash of metal against the walls that made her jump a bit. She looked nervously at Edward. He looked back at her, then put a comforting hand on her trembling one and stroked it with his thumb.

During lunch time Ichigo sat at the table with Bella and her friends. The Cullens sat in their usual spot. Edward spoke with Rose and Emmett quietly so that only they could hear him, but Ichigo could feel their eyes on him. _Damn, what's with them? Definitely not the kind of first day I expected to have... Though it is somewhat._ He also could feel Emma's intense gaze at him. He knew she'd be hitting on him sooner than later and that he was bound to get into trouble with her boyfriend 'cause she wouldn't give him a break. He couldn't exactly tell her to 'F' off but he didn't want another waste of time in the conflict between her and her boyfriend. So he'd better tell her soon that he doesn't like her the way she likes him.

* * *

The rest of the day went by fast. After the last bell, Ichigo went to the library to get his text books. On the way there he accidentally brushed shoulders with Emmett, feeling his coldness. That caught him by surprise and made him shiver, but he knew better than to turn back and look. He just kept on walking. He wanted as less freakiness as possible, if what happened earlier could be bested. Emmett stopped for a bit. He turned his head a bit and looked back. He felt something odd when he brushed shoulders with that kid. Something that definitely did not feel human.

Rosalie stopped as well. She looked at Emmett, then at Ichigo, and then at Emmett again. "What is it, hun?"

Emmett looked at Ichigo's departing back for a few more seconds before turning to proceed walking. "Nothing, just thought I felt something."

When Ichigo arrived at the library and was checking out his books, Bella came in to submit one.

"Oh, hey, Ichigo." She greeted with a smile.

"Hello Bella." He greeted back, in a calm tone.

"How was the first day?" She asked as she waited for the librarian to finish with Ichigo's books and get to her book.

"Well... Fine, I guess." Ichigo replied with a sigh.

Bella smiled a bit. "I know how that feels. Don't worry though, you'll get used to it."

Ichigo wondered what she meant by those words. Was it double meaning? Or did she mean one thing? Was it about all the attention from the girls? Or was it about the attention from the creeps? Anyway, he didn't show any sign of confusion by her words. "I guess." He replied.

"Hey, do you need a lift home?" Bella asked.

"No, my dad is picking me up today. Then I will have my own car, I just need to get new license." Ichigo replied.

"Oh, alright. Well if you do, tell me." Bella said. "Well, I have to go, see you."

"Bye."

Ichigo watched her walk away for a while before packing the books into his bag and leaving himself. He stood for a while on the curb near the entrance to the parking lot, checking his phone for messages or time from time to time. He felt a familiar gaze and turned his head to see the Cullens staring at him intently from their spot of the parking lot. He looked at them for a few seconds. They didn't even evert their eyes when he did, so he turned his head away. _Damn, that was creepy. What are they, stalkers?_

Finally his father's car drove up to him. He let out a sigh of relief and opened the front passenger door and got in. He shut the door and the car drove to make a turn and drive out the exit.

"So, Ichigo, how was your first day?" Isshin asked.

"Fine." Ichigo replied.

"Where the girls crowding around you as always or are American's different." Isshin asked.

"No difference." Ichigo replied. "How was your day at work?" Ichigo looked at Isshin for a moment as he asked.

"Oh, the day went well. I met an old friend of mine." Isshin replied.

"Oh? How many friends do you actually have here?"

"Not many. And yes, Carlisle Cullen."

_Cullen..._ Ichigo thought. _He's got the same last name as those doll-faced creeps. He's probably just as good-looking as them and probably a creep too. Maybe he's their father. Probably. And I wouldn't be too surprised if he was the same kind of creep as they are._

Ichigo got out of the car once it stopped. He saw Charlie talking to Jacob and Billy as he went to his house. He didn't look for long but long enough to notice that Jacob too, had a close eye on him. _What was it today? Creeper stalking prey day?_ He sure didn't want to be the prey but it seems his hopes were not coming true.

Isshin nodded to his neighbor and their friends in silent greeting and they nodded back.

* * *

Ichigo let his bag drop on the floor beside his desk and bed with a sigh. He then plopped down on his bed and took a moment to relax. He closed his eyes and sighed. Then he took out his phone and set an alarm to ring in an hour. He was worn out and needed a rest. He set his phone on the desk and turned on his side, closing his eyes and drifting off.

Don't forget to review~

And for those of you who like this story, I'm planning on making this one a long one ;)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ichigo awoke early that Saturday. He stared blankly at the wall before him for a few seconds without blinking, then closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He sat up and yawned. He looked at the time on his phone, 5 a.m. He let out another sigh. He knew he should be asleep right now but he just couldn't. He got up and went to the bathroom. once out, he did a few stretches. Then he dressed into his sports uniform which was a white t-shirt, dark grey basketball shorts, a black sweatshirt, and white basketball shoes. He took his phone and headphones, then headed to the first floor and to the kitchen.

He peered into the fridge, looking at what he could drink. There was water, juice, a few sodas, milk, and his father's beer. He decided to go with juice. After downing a glass, he washed it and set it to dry. Then went outside.

He stopped in front of his house for a moment to pick out music and started his play list with Animals by Martin Garrix and Bassjackers. He put his phone in one of his pockets and started to jog. He decided to run a few laps around the neighborhood. Little did he know that a pair of eyes watched him intently from where he could not see them. They narrowed slightly from time to time, their owner changing places fast but staying well hidden.

Ichigo noticed an intent gaze upon himself soon. He stopped and looked around. Seeing nothing he shook the feeling off with a shrug. But soon it returned to him. He let out a huff but kept on running. A smirk crept upon the features of the secret stalker. They liked the boy. He was strong and gorgeous.

Ichigo returned to his house in an hour. He stood in front of his house catching his breath for a moment. Then he went inside. He quietly opened and closed the door, then headed back to his room. He took a shower and dressed into his sleeping clothing again, he felt like sleeping once more. He plopped down on his bed and resumed his slumber.

Ichigo woke up at 10 a.m. He yawned and stretched as he sat up. Oh that was a good sleep. He got out of bed and dressed into his regular clothing. A pair of jeans and a green t-shirt. He headed to the first floor. Yuzu was in the kitchen washing dishes, Karin was watching tv in the living room, and his father had already left to work.

"Morning, Karin. Yuzu." Ichigo greeted his sisters as he walked from the living room into the kitchen.

"Morning." Karin replied.

"Good morning, Ichi-nii." Yuzu replied as well.

"What's for breakfast?" Ichigo asked Yuzu.

"There's some omelette and rice in the fridge for you. There's also some salad left from yesterday lunch if you want." Yuzu named the food available for breakfast.

Ichigo looked into the fridge, then pulled out the named foods. He first heated up the omelette and rice in the microwave, then added some salad to it and went to sit at the table in the dining room. He took his time enjoying the food, but then he got that feeling again. Like someone was watching him. He chewed slower and swallowed slowly as well as his eyes wandered slowly around the room. He wanted to know where that feeling was coming from. Was there a ghost in the house that he couldn't see? But why was he even able to feel it then? Didn't he lose all of his powers after the Winter War? At least he was sure he did and so were the Soul Reapers... The last time he checked.

Karin called from the living room. "Ichi-nii, there's an anime con in Seattle this weekend. Can you come with us for one day?"

"It's a day's ride, Karin." Ichigo replied.

"You have 3 days of break next week."

"I do?"

"Yes."

"How do you know?"

"Dad looked at your school's calendar when we talked to him about the anime con."

"Oh... Well let me finish eating my breakfast, then I'll go and look for myself, and then we'll decide what to do. I'm getting my car tomorrow."

"Okay." Karin returned to watching the tv. Ichigo finished his food and went into the kitchen to wash his plate.

Yuzu took his plate. "I'll wash it for you, Ichi-nii."

"Thank you, Yuzu." Ichigo thanked.

"No biggie." Yuzu said with a smile.

Ichigo patted her head and went back up to his room. He sat at his desk and turned on his computer. Once it was on he went and checked his school's calendar. Indeed, he did have a break from Monday to Wednesday. How convenient, he has more time to get used to this country. Then he checked his e-mail. There were mails from Chad, Orihime, Keigo, and Tatsuki. He let out a sigh. Deep inside he was hoping that by some weird chance he'd have a mail from Renji or Rukia if not both. Or any of the Soul Reapers! He felt left out, which is what it was. His powers were gone and he said his good-beys. He was no longer the Substitute Soul Reaper that he once was, he was a normal human now. He replied to his friends' mails and decided to start on the homework that was assigned. Surprisingly it was easy. He heard that the American system was easier than the Japanese but he didn't think it was that easy. He finished all of his assigned home work in 5 hours. Taking only one break for lunch. Once he was finished, he stretched and sat there for a moment, making sure he had done everything, he had. So he packed his things into his bag and sat there for a moment in his chair staring up at the ceiling. He wondered how Renji and Rukia were right now. Then he looked down for a few seconds before his phone rang. He looked at it, it was his father.

"Yeah?" Ichigo answered the call.

"Hello Ichigo." Isshin greeted. "I have your new license. If you would come to the hospital and bring me lunch which I forgot in the fridge, I would give them to you."

"Alright." Ichigo agreed.

"You know where the hospital is, right?" Isshin asked.

"Yeah, I remember the way." Ichigo replied.

"Alright, I'm waiting for you, son." Isshin said.

"Bye." Ichigo hung up. He checked something on his phone after finishing the call, then set his phone on his desk and got up and started to dress. He put on a pair of tight dark blue jeans, his black high tops, a navy blue button shirt with rolled up sleeves and thin black crisscrossing lines, and a black leather jacket. He then went down to the first floor. "Oi, Yuzu. Dad said he left his lunch in the fridge."

"Oh, yes. It's there, on the top shelf." Yuzu called back from the living room.

Ichigo came into the kitchen and opened the fridge. It didn't take long for his eyes to find what they were looking for. A paper bag with a plastic container inside and a bottle of water along with chopsticks. He grabbed the bag and closed the fridge. "I'm going." He said before walking out the door and closing it.

"Take care, Ichi-nii." Karin called back from the living room. She and Yuzu were playing a board game.

Ichigo walked down the streets to the hospital. He didn't have that uneasy feeling of being watched anymore. Though secretly he was, but by a different being this time. Jacob was silently following Ichigo, keeping a distance but not losing him out of sight. He stopped when he saw Ichigo enter the hospital. He narrowed his eyes and waited for a bit. He had an excuse to cover for himself if he was spotted by Carlisle or any of his children: his grandfather needed medicine and he came for it. He came inside and went to the front desk. There he told a nurse he came for his grandfather's medicine. She asked his name and he told her. She told him to wait and got up and left. He looked to the side and saw Ichigo with his father and... Carlisle. Ichigo had handed Isshin his forgotten lunch and his father used the chance to introduce Ichigo to his friend. Carlisle seemed to act his usual polite and softly smiling self. Though he was a bit hesitant for a moment when Ichigo offered a handshake. Jacob smirked. Then Isshin spotted Jacob he raised a hand in greeting. Ichigo turned to look at Jacob and Carlisle moved his eyes to look at the teen as well. Jacob nodded to Isshin and Ichigo, but took a moment before nodding to Carlisle. Carlisle also took a moment before returning the nod. Ichigo was observant about the way the two greeted each other. There was tension between them, he wondered why.

Ichigo left the hospital. He stood for a moment outside in front of it and looked at his hand. Carlisle's hand was as cold as Emmett when Ichigo brushed against him the day before. He wondered why. And something about that paleness, all the Cullens he had seen so far were very pale, too pale in fact to be healthy humans. But after all what happened yesterday between him and the Cullens he suspected that they weren't really human.

Jacob walked out of the hospital. He paused a moment when he saw Ichigo. Then he walked up to him. "Yo, what's up?" He greeted the other teen.

"Nothing much, you?" Ichigo replied. He put his hand in the pocket of his jeans and looked at Jacob as he spoke.

"Had to get medicine for my grandfather." Jacob said. He had a small bag in his right hand.

"Is he all right?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, just needs to take his medication from time to time." Jacob replied. "You heading home now?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm heading to Bella's. Wanna walk together?"

"Sure." The two of them started walking.

"So how long does your father know Dr. Cullen?"

"He told me he met him a year ago when he was on a meeting here in Washington."

"Ah, I see."

"You know the Cullens?"

Jacob took a moment to reply. "Yeah... A bit."

Ichigo noticed the teen taking a moment to pick out the right words for an answer. As if careful about what he said. "Tell me... What's up with their kids?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... I don't mean to be rude but... Yesterday they've been kind of strange."

"Strange?"

"Yeah."

"How so?"

"Well, they always seemed to stare at me, like watching me closely. And that Jasper kid seemed to be drilling holes in my back with his glare and then abruptly left. The Edward guy seemed to watch me with suspicion. The other two, the bulky guy and... What was her name...Rose I think, yeah Rose. They seemed to be whispering a lot."

"Yeah, they do that. They're not really known for being good at communication." Jacob explained. _So he noticed. Heh...Vamps, you got yourself into deep shit. If Jasper loses control we'll have all the right to kill you on the spot...Just you wait!_

"I see. But are they always that creepy?"

"Not always like that, but they are creepy." Jacob said with a slight chuckle. "I wouldn't recommend you to get too close to them."

"Bella seems to be on good terms with one of them."

"Yeah, well she seems to be like their cup of tea."

"I see." The two teens have already arrived near the houses they were headed to. "Well see ya around." Ichigo said before heading into his house.

"You too." Jacob then went into Bella's house.

Ichigo closed the door behind him. Karin was no longer in her room and Yuzu was in the kitchen trying out some new recipes from the internet.

"Welcome back, Ichi-nii." Yuzu greeted him.

"Yeah." Ichigo replied.

"How's dad?" Yuzu asked.

"He's fine. Introduced me to a friend of his."

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"He knows so many people here."

"Seems so."

"I'm trying out a strawberry pie, wanna have some later?"

"Ah...Sure." Ichigo agreed. _Strawberry pie... Great._

Ichigo went up to his room and closed the door. He took off his jacket and sat down at his desk. He took his licence out of his pocket and looked at them. Finally he'd put them to use. And his car was awesome. It was a black Lamborghini. He wondered where his father got the money to buy that beast but he'll probably have to sleep in the garage or handcuff himself to the car so that he'd be able to keep an eye on it the whole time.

* * *

The whole Cullen family was gathered in the living room. They all contributed what they had observed and to what conclusions they came from the observations of Kurosaki Ichigo.

"From what we observed at school, he seems to be a normal teenager. He isn't very talkative and seems to be good with the material presented in classes, also very sportive. The girls seem to be eyeing him with interest, it's understandable why. He attracts much attention with his hair and the aura around him. Not only the females. The males are reacting as well. Some seem to be looking at him like at a rival since their girlfriends react to him. Others are simply looking for trouble and they seem to find him perfect for it. But there is something disturbing about him that we noticed. For one, I cannot read his thoughts." At that Carlisle seemed to be especially at attention. He exchanged looks with Esmé, then looked at Edward again. Edward continued. "The block is not as strong as Bella's, but it's strong enough to keep me out. It feels like a barrier, a weakened barrier but still a strong one. And it also feels like there is something that doesn't want me to get into his mind. As weird as it sounds... I feel like there is something inside of him."

"And his smell... It is too strong. All of the humans in the school put together wouldn't be able to over power his scent." Said Jasper.

"I'm surprised you're still here." Emmett teased.

"Emmett!" Rose elbowed him in the side a bit, Jasper narrowed his eyes and glared at him, Alice gave him a 'really?' look.

"What I seemed to notice during the day is his observing about his surroundings. He is very careful and observant. He offered me a handshake and I think it was not simply out of politeness." Said Carlisle.

"More like checking your temperature?" Esmé asked.

"Yes." Carlisle replied.

"I remember brushing arms against him yesterday in the hallway. I think he felt my temperature at that time and I think he took it into consideration due to everything that happened." Emmett said. "And also I felt something as well. It was a weird feeling, I don't know how to describe it... Like something rushed through me... Like a shiver, but not completely."

"I think he is already suspecting us in not being human if not already knowing that we are vampires." Said Carlisle. "And also something about how he observed when Jacob and I greeted each other. We greeted each other with hesitant nods... And he seemed to watch us closely."

"You think he might've asked Jacob questions about us on his way home?" Rose asked.

"He might've." Carlisle replied.

"Great, now we have the mutts getting another reason to hunt us." Emmett was getting agitated. "This is all because you couldn't keep your nipples calm." He pointed at Jasper.

Jasper rose. "You wanna take this outside?"

"Sure, why not." Emmett agreed. The two vampires stood dangerously close to each other.

"Alright, break it up you two." Alice stood up and pulled them apart. They glared at each other for a while before sitting back down at the spots.

"I think we should be especially careful with him and we need to find out what he is before he finds out what we are." Edward said. "Not knowing him might prove to be very dangerous."

"I agree." Carlisle agreed. "So let's each try to find out everything we can about him and his family and try to stay off the werewolf radar." With that said, the Cullens each departed to tend to their own business.


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

Jacob was telling his pack what he observed so far, to add to what he observed and what conclusion he came to during the dinner at Bella's house. "From what I saw yesterday, he seems to be a normal teenager. But it's whether he is normal and doesn't know what he is, or he's a good actor. When I listened to his heartbeat while talking, it didn't jump even once and didn't speed up from nervousness, he was completely calm. His father though seems to be acquainted with Carlisle Cullen for a year now. They first met when Isshin Kurosaki went to a meeting in Washington a year ago, or so I was told. They seem to be on good terms. All of his family seems normal except for Ichigo. There is something about his aura. It doesn't feel human, too strong to be human. Human auras don't show emotions so distinctly."

"So what could you make out?" Sam asked, with crossed arms.

"He distinctly shows emotions of pain and gloom. One of the reasons I am sure is whatever happened to his mother. The whole family was under tension when the topic was brought up. They all seemed sad and uneasy, but Ichigo most of all. Also not only that, something recent had happened which causes him to feel down. But he also expresses emotions of love and care toward his family. He is very protective of them, especially his sisters." Jacob explained. "As I said, we all know that human auras don't show emotions that way. There is something more to his aura. Something evil and extremely powerful. But it seems to be currently weakened, though if I felt it then the Cullens are aware for sure."

"What was that evil you spoke of?" Leah asked.

"It feels like there is someone totally different with him, but at the same time very alike." Jacob answered.

"Like double personality? Is he bipolar?" Seth asked.

"I'm not so sure, but that maybe the case. Anyway, at moments which were especially touchy like having to do with his hair or his mother, he seemed to tense." Jacob said. "As if trying to keep something in check."

"Alright, by what we heard so far, he seems to be dangerous and doesn't know about it or knows but has a hard time keeping that side in control." Sam spoke up. "We need to find out what he is and about his family as soon as possible because it is most likely that the Cullens are doing the same, we can't be left behind... Not by those wretched vamps." Everyone seemed to tense and scowl at the mention of the unwanted creatures. Then they were excused. Sam walked with Jacob for a bit. "I want you to keep an eye on him. Don't get too suspicious, but find out what you can." He whispered.

Jacob gave him a nod and then all of them went each their own way.

* * *

The Kurosaki family had eaten their breakfast. The car had been delivered to their house yesterday evening. Ichigo spent a while looking it over, drove a few times round the neighborhood to get a feel of it. It could be described with only one word: AWESOME!

After breakfast Yuzu took a moment to clean the table and wash the dishes. Karin had brought her bag and her sister's to the door. Ichigo came down the stair with his own over his shoulder. Isshin was outside talking to Charlie. Charlie's attention was caught by the expensive car and he was simply making sure that Ichigo was driving safely, especially with two younger sisters on board.

"Are we ready?" Ichigo called as he stood near the door, having picked up his sister's bags.

"Just a moment, Ichi-nii." Yuzu called. Karin had already walked up to the door with her brother, ready to go. In a few moments Yuzu came out of her room and rushed down the stairs. "Now we're ready." She said with a slight huff from hurrying.

Ichigo opened the door and stepped aside letting his sisters through first. Then came out himself and shut the door. He went to his car and pressed a button on the distance control on his keys to open the trunk. Then he put the bags into the trunk and closed it. He opened the right back door for his sisters to get into the back seat. Once they were in, he closed the door and went to sit in the driver's seat, but not before returning Charlie's nod of greeting. He waved a bit to his father. He buckled up and turned to look at his sisters. "Have you buckled up, ladies?"

"Yes, Ichi-nii." Yuzu said with a giggle.

Ichigo adjusted his rearview mirror, then started the car. He slowly drove onto the road. His sisters waved to their father and Charlie before Ichigo made a turn and drove off.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The three Kurosaki siblings arrived in Seattle at 7 p.m. that same day they left. With the map that Ichigo got from Charlie and by going on the fast lane, they saved a lot of time. Now they drove up to a motel. Ichigo got out of the car while his sisters stayed in the car waiting for him. He went into the motel and to the front desk, booking a room with two beds. His sisters would sleep on one together and he would on the other. They had already discussed that earlier. Then he returned to his car, he opened the door for his sisters to get out, then went to open the trunk. He handed his sisters their bags and grabbed his own, then he closed the trunk and then the car. He checked that it was closed, then looked over it for a bit, and then went to their booked room with his sisters. Luckily the room's windows went out on the parking lot where he could see his car.

The three walked into their room. They took a few moments to look around, then put their bags on their beds. Ichigo sighed and plopped down on his bed. He stared at the ceiling for a bit, then sat up and turned on the tv. Then he looked at his sisters. "It's soon time for bed. Go take your showers, I'll get the dinner ready."

Yuzu was the first to go into the bathroom to shower, then Karin. While his sisters were getting ready for bed, Ichigo heated their dinner in the microwave. For dinner they had curry. Once Karin was out, the three sat at the small round table and ate.

Once they were finished with their food, Yuzu got up to wash their plastic containers and spoons. Ichigo went into the shower.

Ichigo stood there for a while with his head up and eyes closed, letting the water rain on his face and flow down his body. He then hung his head and opened his eyes as he looked down at the white tub. Again he had that feeling of being watched, but how? There was one small window in the bathroom with barely see-through glass. But the gaze was the same one as on Saturday morning during his jog. He sighed and turned off the water. He stepped out of the tub and took a towel and started drying himself. A pair of red eyes watched him closely. They narrowed a few times as their owner kept on stalking the 'unsuspecting' prey.

Ichigo put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and walked out of the bathroom, his sisters already in their bed and softly snoring. He smirked a bit. Then he went to lay down on his own bed. He laid on his side, staring out the far window of the room outside at the dark street. He sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep.

* * *

Monday morning in Forks:

Jacob found out from Bella that Ichigo and his sisters left to Seattle to some event there. When he was walking down the street he stopped as he smelled a familiar yet different scent. It belonged to a vampire, but not the one from Forks. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion and followed the scent. It led him into the forest and finally to the cliff where he and his pack were jumping off into the see a few times. He narrowed his eyes. Somehow he felt it was someone from Seattle and someone who had to do with the strange deaths there. But what were they doing here? Whoever they were, they were gone now, back in Seattle, or where ever they were. But he went to report to his pack.

* * *

Later that same morning in Seattle now:

Ichigo and his sisters were at the anime con. Yuzu put on her Sailor Moon costume while Karin put on her Mikasa Ackerman costume. Ichigo put on nothing, he was simply an escort. He stayed near his sisters keeping a close eye on them but stayed out of the photos when other cosplayers took pictures together with them in different stances. He had to admit that the costumes and the characters overall did match his sisters, in personalities at least.

But he got a bit suspicious when a certain Akatsuki Kain cosplayer walked up to his sisters for a photo. The guy wasn't Japanese, but that's not what mattered. His costume and ginger wig were not what was strange either. It was his pale skin color and deep blood-red eyes. Those were not fake at all, at least the skin color Ichigo knew for sure. Though the guy's eyes were different from the Cullens', the skin color was the same. Yuzu shivered and Karin eyed the stranger for a moment when he hugged them a bit for a photo.

_His skin is cold..._ Ichigo thought as he saw his sisters' reactions. When the stranger was about to leave, he looked at Ichigo with a smirk. Then he said his good byes to the two sweet girls, even kissed Yuzu's hand. Ichigo narrowed his eyes. He watched the stranger leave, then he walked up to his sisters. He put his hands on their shoulders. "Enough for today." Ichigo said as he watched the stranger until he was out of his sight.

"But Ichi-nii, we just came~" Yuzu whined.

"Yeah, let us have some fun." Karin supported her sister.

"Just listen to me and come with me." Ichigo insisted.

"Is something wrong?" Yuzu asked with concern.

"Not sure, but we better go before it goes wrong." Ichigo answered. Then the three of them left, but not after getting all their photos that the two sisters took.

* * *

Later that same day in Seattle:

After leaving the convention and since there were still some hours of day light ahead, the three siblings decided to walk around town and make some memories of it. They returned to the motel at sunset. The two girls were worn out from the convention and walking around town. They took a moment to sit and rest. Ichigo looked at his phone, there was a message from his father. It said to buy some souvenirs for him from Seattle.

Ichigo sighed. "I need to go out for a bit. You two stay here. Take off your costumes and eat your dinner. If I won't be back by 8 go to bed without me."

"Is everything alright, Ichi-nii?" Yuzu asked.

"Dad wants me to get him a few souvenirs." Ichigo said with annoyance present in his voice.

"Careful on your way." Karin warned.

"Yeah." He ruffled Karin's hair a bit to which she pouted and stuck her tongue out at him. "Well I'm going." Ichigo said as he walked out the door.

"Stay safe, Ichi-nii!" Yuzu called before he closed the door.

Ichigo went to his car. He opened the door and sat inside, then closed the door. He looked at the time, 7 p.m. He let out another sigh. He checked the money in his wallet, there was enough for a t-shirt with something having to do with Seattle on it and a small figure of something. He started his car and then drove off into town. He had to do it right now because they planned to leave early the next morning because it takes a while to ride back and God knows how long it will take them this time.

He drove around for a bit until he found what he was looking for. Unfortunately the only available parking spots were a few blocks away. He parked his car and stepped out of it. He locked the doors and went down the street to the souvenir shop. It took him 10 minutes to reach it. He came in and looked at what was there. He decided to buy a t-shirt with the Seattle Space Needle and a magnet with the Seattle Seahawks logo. He knew his dad liked that team.

When he was walking back it was already very dark and no one was out on the streets. Suddenly, he felt that same feeling of being watched again. He inhaled and exhaled, walking and being alert. All of a sudden, something crashed into him from his left and sent him flying into an alley way which was on his left. But he didn't see or hear anything approaching.

He crashed into a large trash container, the impact was so large he bent the metal a bit. He shook his head with a groan and was getting up on his feet when someone grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and lifted him up against a building wall. As he looked down he recognized the face. He thought the guy at the comic con was seeming familiar, but now without that costume and wig, he knew who it was. It was Riley Biers, the guy who he heard from Charlie had disappeared a while back. He still had that pale skin and blood-red eyes. Ichigo was sure, this guy was not human!

Riley snarled at him, then started to chuckle. Ichigo scowled and kicked Riley away with his knee to Riley's chest. The force of the impact was great enough to catch the vampire by surprise and send him stumbling back to the other building's wall in the alley. He stood leaning down a bit, holding onto the wall with his right hand to keep from falling and his left hand was on his chest. He took a moment to realise the strength, then his eyes shot to Ichigo who was in a fighting stance. He smiled. "You got some fight in you... Good." He stood up straight and lunged at Ichigo with his fist.

Ichigo was expecting a fist to the face and was getting ready to evade it when Riley bent down and swapped him off his feet with his right leg. Ichigo fell to the ground. Riley aimed for Ichigo's head but Ichigo rolled away in time to avoid the punch. Riley's fist hit the concrete, leaving a crater from the hard punch.

Ichigo was on his feet in no time. He kicked Riley in the gut but Riley wasn't so surprised by the attack and caught Ichigo's foot. Ichigo's eyes widened and Riley's smile grew.

Riley twisted Ichigo's foot making the teen groan in pain and end up facing him with his back and sent him spinning into the wall he was crashed into himself recently. Ichigo crashed into the wall with his back and fell to the ground on his front. His ankle was twisted but not broken. Riley walked to him. "You know," He crouched down and when Ichigo tried to get up, he put his right knee on the teen's back to keep him down. "I never expected a human to fight me back. But then again," He leaned down to whisper into Ichigo's ear. "You're not really human, are you?"

Ichigo grunted in response, teeth clenched.

Riley chuckled at such a response. Then he asked. "So what are you? Tell me."

Ichigo smirked. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Riley's smile turned into a scowl. He gripped Ichigo's hair, earning a loud groan and smashed Ichigo's forehead into the concrete hard, giving the teen quiet a concussion. Then Riley got up seeing as Ichigo appeared to be unable to fight back now. "Join me, Ichigo. Join my army of immortals or die..." He smirked. "No, you know what I'll do? I'll let my newborns shred your family in front of you and then I will fill your last moments of life with even more agony as you turn into one of us."

Ichigo's eyes widened.

Riley chuckled. "So better join me and not resist so that your sisters and father get to live."

"Like Hell I will!" Ichigo grabbed Riley's ankle and pulled it full force making the vampire fall back hard on the concrete. He then jumped on Riley and started punching his face.

Riley received the beating for quite a while until it stopped for bit. He looked up and smirked at the panting, worn out, and beat up Ichigo. He vanished from Ichigo and in that same moment Ichigo was being held up by the back of his neck. "That was a bad decision, my friend."

"I am not your friend!" Ichigo turned in Riley's grip, no matter how it hurt he still managed, and gripped Riley's arm, twisting his shoulder a bit.

Riley let out a scream of pain as his shoulder cracked. He growled and was about to attack Ichigo from behind again, this time was planning to make his fist go through the teen's back and out of his chest, destroying his heart, but Ichigo turned in time to plant an elbow into Riley's throat. Riley's eyes widened. He gasped and leaned down as he held his damaged throat.

Ichigo used this chance to run. No matter how much his ankle hurt, he still ran as fast as he could.

Riley stayed there, gasping for air. Ichigo had crushed the cartilage on his trachea. Riley took a moment for his throat and shoulder to heal. Once it was healed, he leaned up straight, a scowl on his face, hatred in his eyes. He loathed the teen who had enough strength to do this to him. He could've killed him, if he hadn't used the chance to run. But then Riley smirked, he sure wanted Ichigo in his coven, he'd make a perfect killer machine. Then Riley ran off in a blur.

All the while, Demetri stood on a roof of a building across from the two buildings in the alley between which Ichigo fought with Riley. He now was sure of two things. One, Riley was behind the killings in Seattle, and two, Ichigo had to be watched. Demetri watched as Ichigo sped down the street to his car. He quickly got in, started his car, and drove off fast. Demetri smirked, then turned and left the building's roof.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Jane, Alec, Felix, and Demetri stood on the rooftop of a building next to an abandoned warehouse. The warehouse's roof was broken and the slaughter within was fully revealed to them. The newborns inside were too busy and inexperienced to even think that someone other than their leader could be watching them.

Riley walked back and forth eyeing the event. Sometimes, he stopped a few newborns to tell them of how more controlled they had to be and why. Other than that, he was rather pleased.

Jane spoke, keeping her eyes on the feast to which the Volturi have not been invited. "So these are the culprits… And those are their leaders." The Volturi turned their eyes to look at the redhead puppeteer and her puppet at her side. "And what were you saying about that human in the alley with Riley before?"

"Much to my surprise, the human got away with his life and in one piece." Demetri answered. "He got quite a beating but he managed to harm Riley as well. If he stayed he could've easily killed him, but he instead chose to run."

"Interesting…" Jane said. Indeed she was interested.

"We should report this." Said Felix.

"No, we can't." Jane said.

"Why? We need our masters to know so that they can make a decision." Felix said.

"We can't. Alice will know our masters' decisions… We have to make those decisions for them right now." Jane said. With that she turned and walked away, followed by her companions. "After we have dealt with this, we need to keep an eye on that human."

* * *

The door pushed open to show a panting with exhaustion and stress Ichigo. The slam of the door handle against the wall awoke the two sleeping sisters. Yuzu gasped at the sight and teared up. Karin quickly got up and ran to Ichigo.

"Ichigo!" She took his right arm and put it around herself, putting a hand around his waist and helped him walk to his own bed.

"Ichi-nii!" Yuzu rushed to him, there were tears in her eyes and she sniffled.

"Close…The door…" Ichigo breathed out. Karin quickly ran and closed the door, then rushed back to his side.

"What happened?" Karin asked with concern.

Ichigo panted. He slowly reached into his jacket and pulled out some wrapped in a white bag. Yuzu took it and unwrapped it, then slowly withdrew a dark blue t-shirt with a picture of the Seattle Space Needle. A look of confusion appeared on the girls' faces. They looked at each other, then at their brother. "Dad's suvenier… That's what happened." Ichigo fell back on his bed, eyes closing, his breathing slightly getting softer. Karin went to the phone and was about to dial their father but Ichigo spoke up stopping her. "Don't."

Karin looked at him. "Why?"

"Just don't." He breathed out.

"Ichi-nii, you need help!" Yuzu moved to sit behind him.

"Please… Just don't." Ichigo exhaled. The two sisters looked at each other, then at their brother.

A little while later, same night:

Ichigo having taken an hour of rest, woke up and was now wrapping his twisted ankle to keep it from moving to much under his weight. In the meantime, Karin and Yuzu were packing their things along with their brother's.

Yuzu came up to Ichigo. She had a cup of black tea in her hands. "Here… Have some tea." She offered him in a low tone. It sounded like she would break out in tears again.

Ichigo looked up at her from his ankle. He took the cup and drank the tea. "Thank you, Yuzu."

"Oh brother!" Yuzu broke out in tears again. She wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug but then pulled away in fear of hurting him. "I'm sorry…"

"It's all right, Yuzu." Ichigo pulled her into a soft hug. They stayed like that for a little while, then Yuzu patted his head. He smiled in return, which made her smile as well. She took the cup and went to wash it in the sink. Ichigo finished wrapping his ankle. Once finished with the main injury, he got up and carefully trudged to the bathroom to tend to his other injuries which were bruises and scratches. He hissed and winced from time to time at the pain but still fought it. Once finished taking care of his wounds, he walked out. His sisters had finished preparing all of their things. He smiled. He patted both of their head, then went to put on his shirt and jacket. "Let's go." He opened the door for them to walk out and then walked out as well. He left the key inside the open room for the cleaner to find it and take it to the reception in the morning since he and his sisters would be leaving in the morning anyway, but earlier they planned to leave a few hours later.

He opened the car, put the bags into the trunk, made sure his sisters buckled up, then sat in his own seat, buckled up as well, and then drove off. He drove faster this time. He had only one thing on his mind, getting his sisters to their home safely. Moving to this country wasn't a good idea after all. He knew it! His sister sat silently, looking out the windows at the passing by surroundings.

They took a few breaks during their drive to check up on Ichigo's injuries but nothing more other than that really.

They arrived to Forks on Tuesday, at 4 p.m. Ichigo's car sped down the street, made a sharp turn and stopped abruptly in front of their garage. Thankfully, Charlie was not at home, he was in his office. But Bella and Edward came to the window to the sharp sound of tires and breaks to see what was going on. They saw how fast Ichigo got out of his seat, opened the door for his sisters to get out, took the bags from the trunks, closed the trunk and the doors, and hurried his sisters into their house.

"We need to call dad!" Yuzu insisted.

"Not now, Yuzu." Ichigo said. He was stressed. He was afraid something might happen to his sisters and he wouldn't be in any condition to defend them.

"But why?" Yuzu demanded.

"Yuzu, just don't!"

"What is even going on?" Karin was on edge too. "You come late, barely alive, and you refuse to tell anything and call the police or the doctors, much less our own father!"

Ichigo sighed and crouched to be at eye level with Karin. He put his hands gently on the shoulders of the panting with emotional outburst girl. "Karin… Listen. I know only one thing for sure. This country isn't safe… But we can't put dad on edge right now. Recently…Something happened which had a very big impact on him… He finally has a chance to relax a little."

Karin sobbed. She leaned forward and gently hugged her brother. "Isn't Japan the same?"

Ichigo gently patted her back. "Not like this."

Karin pulled back and looked at him. "So what do we do right now?"

"We just stay home and when we go out, try to be as careful as possible." Ichigo said, looking at her. "Alright?"

"Alright." Karin agreed with a nod and a sob.

Yuzu looked between the two. "I'll… Make us something to eat." She then hurried into the kitchen but Ichigo's words stopped her.

"Yuzu, no. Take a shower and change first… We're not that hungry." Ichigo said.

Yuzu turned and looked at him. There were tears in her eyes, but she nodded. She took her bag and went into her room.

"Wait… Yuzu." Karin picked her own bag up and went after her sister. Their rooms were next to each other.

Yuzu came into her room and let her bag drop on the floor. She was now crying. Karin dropped her bag in her room's doorway and then came into her sister's room.

"Yuzu," Karin walked up to her. She hugged her gently. "I know you are trying to do your best, but please take care of yourself as well."

"I know… I'm just so worried…" Yuzu sobbed. "Ichi-nii always protects us and always gets hurt."

"It's going to be all right, Yuzu." Karin comforted her with words and patted the back of her head as she did.

* * *

Edward stood in silence the whole time near the window, looking down at nothing really as he intently listened to the sobbing inside and the thoughts of the two sisters since he couldn't read Ichigo's mind.

"Is something wrong?" Bella looked at him with concern.

"He was attacked… Most likely by one of Victoria's underlings…" Edward spoke.

Bella was silent. She drew back a bit. Edward turned to look at her. She turned with her back to him and put her hand on her head. "My God…" She breathed out.

"Bella? Bella!" Edward pulled her into a hug.

"Because of me… because of me he could've died!" Bella sobbed into Edward's chest as he held her close, comforting her.

* * *

Ichigo came into his room and closed the door. He dropped his bag on the floor, then went into his bathroom. He undressed, his muscles aching as he moved them. Then he slowly began to take off his bandages and band aids. He took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. Not a spot was left on him. He turned this and that way to look at himself at different angles. He then moved his previously hurt ankle, it didn't hurt a single bit. His muscles were just sore. He removed all of his clothing and climbed into the tub to wash.

He exited his bathroom and dressed into a pair of jeans shorts, navy blue moccasins, and his navy blue buttoned shirt. He put the rest of his clothing into the laundry bin in his bathroom. Then he walked outside to take a look at his car.

* * *

Bella was in the bathroom washing her face and blowing her nose. Edward was standing near the same window and was about to walk away from it when his attention was caught by Ichigo again. He stopped and looked at him. His eyes widened a bit. Before he saw Ichigo all in bandages and band aids, and he swore he sensed a lot of muscle pain from the injuries on his body as well as seen Ichigo limping, but now the lad was all right. He was walking normally, there wasn't a single mark on him left from the injuries. All that Edward could make out, judging by the tension of his muscles, was that he was simply sore. How?

* * *

Ichigo looked over his car, making sure there were no scratched or other marks on it. Once having made sure it was looking as brand new as it was, he started to head back inside but stopped from feeling a gaze on himself. He moved his eyes to look up to Bella's window, he swore the gaze came from there, but there was no one. He narrowed his eyes and went into his house.

* * *

Edward had moved away in time to not be spotted, though he knew that Ichigo was not a fool and considering what he had been through he knew he was being watched. Bella came out from the bathroom, she looked at Edward.

"Is everything all right?" She asked.

Edward looked at her, then gave her a slight nod. "Yes." He looked out the window again, then looked at Bella. "Listen, I have to go now." He walked to the door.

"Wh-what? Where?" Bella asked.

"There is something I have to talk to Carlisle about."

"Is it about Ichigo?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to tell him."

"No. Not yet as least."

"Why?"

"It's complicated."

"I see…"

"Listen, Bella…" Edward appeared in front of her and cupped his cheek with his hand. "We don't know what he is or what his goal is here, so please don't get too close to him."

She gave a nod for an answer of understanding.

Edward kissed Bella's forehead and disappeared. She sighed and plopped down on her bed.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It's been a few days now. Ichigo pretended to act normal, but he was highly aware of the intense gazes following him around all the time. The only periods where he could relax were 5th and 6th where he had Bella and none of the Cullens. Jasper seemed to be a little more relaxed but still eyed Ichigo with black eyes. More and more girls seemed to gather confidence to approach him and talk to him. A few even invited him for a date, which he politely refused. And more and more guys were glaring at him. Well... He was already used to such treatment. Many sports team captains approached him asking him to join their teams, some even competed between each other for having him on their team, due to his high level of performance in P.E. He was second best after Emmett. At least that was the only Cullen in his P.E. class and top student. Some were even making bets who would best the other in speed even for regular speed tests. But for the Cullens the main event seemed to be nearing, Victoria's arrival with her army.

Ichigo, once taking a jog through the woods witnessed a scene he least expected in his life. Before then, he thought werewolves were just a myth. He saw Jacob and a few others who seemed to be native Americans, change into giant wolves. He stayed at a distance where he could barely see them, his awareness raised high. He also kept the same distance when he saw them and the Cullens training. What he witnessed was enough to conclude that they were getting ready for something big. And then the next day he over heard something about Seattle and some Victoria and some army of newborn vampires. Now it made sense. Riley who attacked him in Seattle was urging him to join this Victoria's army. He didn't know why, but he was somehow sure it had to do with Bella. The way Edward was always protective of her. So if the Cullens were attacked, they'd have to make sure Bella was safe because she seemed to be dear to them, well mostly Edward, because their enemy could use Bella for their benefit against the Cullens.

Ichigo came home from school. Today, his father would be staying at work late and his sisters were staying after school. Perfect. He had two hours before he had to go and pick up his sisters from their school. So he decided to use this chance to look over the secret storage of weapons that his father had for longer than Ichigo lived.

He went into the basement of the house and searched it thoroughly. He found a few wooden boxes which, when he opened, he discovered to contain many sorts of guns, katana swords, both long and short, bows and crossbows and arrows, daggers and kunai knives and shurikens, all sorts of things. He wondered why his father had them, but the first time he discovered these when he was 11. He didn't know whether his father knew he discovered the weapons or not, but at least his father never seemed to show that he did. They were kept in the basement at their old house, so he assumed they'd be kept in the basement of this house as well, and he was right. By what he had gathered, the Cullens and the werewolves were expecting this Victoria with her newborn army tomorrow.

He picked out a few shurikens, kunai knives, daggers, two short katanas and six longer ones, a cross-bow and a few arrows, an electric shocker, two guns with bullets, a few smoke grenades, and tear gas cans. He looked at his gathered weapons. Were these good enough to kill even one newborn? From what he over heard, newborns were stronger because of the human blood in their veins. He didn't know why he was allowed to overhear that. And why didn't the Cullens and the werewolves catch him when he stalked them that time in the forest? Where they testing him and wanted to know how he'd react to the information? Nevertheless, he behaved like he didn't pay any attention to what he found out and acted normal, when on the inside something totally different was happening.

He used the remaining hour and a half he had to try out several of his weapons. Get a feel of them, check if they were good, if they worked properly. Everything seemed fine. He decided he'd sharpen the blades sometime later, just in case. Then he got two pouches which he assumed were for holding smaller weapons and would be attached to the belt. Also he got the katana sheaths as well as ones for daggers which would be strapped to legs or arms, and the leather gun holders which would be strapped to the legs. As he took another look over the things he gathered, he decided that he would need something to cover his face with. Surely his scent would be recognized by a few, but still he didn't want those who did know him to see him in the face.

His phone rung, it was Karin. He answered the call. "Yes?"

"Ichi-nii, are you coming to get us?" Karin asked.

"Yes, I'll be right there, wait 15 minutes." Ichigo replied.

"Alright." Karin hung up.

Ichigo took a moment to think, then he covered everything up in the basement so it would look like nothing was touched, then he moved all the things he gathered to his room and hid them in his closet. He then went outside, sat in his car, and drove off to pick up Karin and Yuzu.

He got his sisters back home and went back up to his room. He searched his closet and found only a few things which he was looking for. Okay, so he got some of his attire for tomorrow. Black jeans, a leather belt, black knee-high grinder boots, leather gloves, a black shirt, and a black leather jacket. But he still didn't have a mask. So he snuck carefully down to the first floor and into the basement, making sure his sisters didn't hear or see him. Okay, he pulled that one off. He quietly searched again. Aha! He found what he was looking for. It was better than what he expected. He found a black cape which seemed to be light but very water proof. It also had a large hood. He tried it on and when he pulled the hood down, not even all the way, his head was completely covered up to the middle of his chest. Hmm... He didn't know how he'd be able to see like that but he still wanted the cape. And another thing... He had no idea why his father had it but he did. It was a black tengu mask. He took the mask and the cape, folded the cape around the mask and snuck out of the basement. Then he snuck back up the stairs and into his room. Whew~! He managed to survive!

He tried on his attire with the weapons, when he looked at himself in the mirror he didn't even recognize himself. What he saw was one of those mysterious professional fighters in the action movies. But something was weird about the mask. When he tried it on, it felt weird. Familiar but not quite. And when he pulled his hood so it covered his head fully, still having the mask, he was suddenly aware of his surroundings even though he couldn't see anything thought the black material. He wondered if that's how blind people felt. They didn't see anything but they knew what was were.

He let out a sigh and undressed. He hid his gathered battle attire and dressed into normal clothing. He then went down to the kitchen and took a knife sharpener, then he went into his room. He managed to sneak with his blades into the basement and started sharpening the weapons. Once he was sure everything was sharp enough to at least place a minor cut on a vampire if not dismember completely, he wrapped his blades in a cloth he had them in before and went to his room. He then returned into the kitchen and placed the knife sharpener back where it belonged. Then he returned to his room. But little did he know that Karin saw him in the door way from the dining room when he was returning the knife sharpener.

As she watched his expression, she was sure she saw something which told her that he was up to no good. She innerly let out a knowing sigh. This was her brother after all. He was always up to something and it was always for the better, even if he suffered through it.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Ichigo's eyes shot open the second the first sun ray of the morning hit them. He sat up fast in bed. Then he went fast into the bathroom and did all his morning bathroom things: shower, wash face, comb hair, etc. Then he walked out of his bathroom and went to the first floor to eat breakfast. After eating, he packed himself some food. As he went to the stairs he stopped before them as a thought struck him. He sneaked into his father's office and carefully searched it for test tubes with rubber lids. He found them. He grabbed a few and then went back to his room.

In his room he dressed in his battle attire. The black jeans, black leather belt, black grinder boots, a black long-sleeved tight shirt, a black leather jacket. Then he checked his weapons. He hid several daggers, kunai knives, and shurikens in his boots. He strapped two dagger holders to the side of his right leg's thigh and the same to his left leg's thigh. Then he attached one short katana with two longer ones on his left side, and the same on his right side. He strapped the his gun holders under his arms at his sides with the loaded guns. He also attached the pouches, one on each side, to his belt. In each pouch were some more kunai knives and shurikens. Also in them were the tear gas cans, gas grenades, and in his left pouch was an electric shocker. He attached the cross-bow to his left forearm. It was small thus its arrows were short. So he put them into his pouches. He unfolded the cross-bow to take a look at it, everything was all right, so he folded it again. He attached the last two katanas on his back in a way that they crossed and were easy to pull out. Then he threw the cape over his shoulders and tied the strings strongly at his neck. Now came the last part... The mask. He put it on, adjusting it so his face would be comfortable in it, surprisingly the mask fit his face's shape and curves perfectly... As if it was hand-made for him exceptionally. He put his gloves on last. He took another admiring look at himself in the mirror in his bathroom... _Perfect_. He smiled under the mask. Then he pulled his hood over his face completely. It wasn't even fully pulled over his head, some of it rested on his shoulders, and still it covered to the middle of his chest. He wondered who styled it that way. Anyway, now was not the time for wondering.

He opened his window and climbed out. Holding onto the edge of the roof and stepping on the wall, he closed the window and then leaped down on the ground. He landed easily on his feet. Then he dashed to the woods. Now... The hunt for vampires begins!

* * *

On a mountain in a tent where Bella, Edward, and Jacob are:

Bella yawned as she stepped out of the tent and stretched. Last night was freezing, but thanks to Jacob she finally was able to fall asleep. Anticipation was growing inside everyone as the moment of Victoria's arrival neared, and with it stress.

* * *

Back in the woods with Ichigo:

Ichigo was running through the woods for a while now until he picked up the werewolf tracks. Now he was more careful as he followed them.


	12. Chapter 12

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Also apologies for the many mistakes. I'm in a hurry and don't always have the time to correct each one, but I will be coming back to chapters from time to time to correct those mistakes.

Chapter 12

The newborns have arrived and Edward sent a werewolf to inform the others. Now the natural enemies stood side by side becoming allies for once, only to defend the land which was rightfully theirs. Well it was more the werewolf land but the Cullens were allowed to own a portion of it as well. The Cullens would fight first, and so they stood in a line on their soon-to-be battle field, awaiting their enemy they will most definitely give their all to crush.

The new borns were dashing through the woods, following the blood marks Bella left with her blood on the trees, that would lead them to their battle field. They sped up with each mark they reached, anticipation and excitement building up by the second.

Ichigo sat high up on a tree branch. Soon, he heard rustling and cracking of branches and soon the vampires came into view. His heart jumped a bit with excitement. There were so many of them, and they all looked so hungry and vicious. But what was he getting all worried about? He kicked stronger ass, he had his experience in battles. Also, he had all these weapons to aid him, he will kill at least ten for sure!

He decided to let the battle between Victoria's army and the Cullens and the werewolves begin and watch to what it would lead. At first the werewolves and the Cullens had the upper hand, but soon the newborns began to show the signs of being fast learners. They seemed to work out well working plans on the way. They attacked in groups, each already knowing what to aim for. The wolves were suffering most, there were already a few with broken bones and Ichigo knew, if nothing was done now, someone might die the next second.

So he leaped down from the branch onto the ground, landing in a crouching position. In front of him were several bushes and trees, he rushed in and stopped between several, exploding two gas bombs to cover his scent and form from being seen. Everyone's attention was caught by the sudden intrusion. The newborns, ever so eager, were the first to attack, while the older and more experienced beings stayed and watched what would happen next. But that's exactly how Ichigo wanted it. There were 8 snarling and thirsty newborns nearing him, they caught his heart beat with their sharp ears and instantly thought: Food!

Ichigo was ready, he pulled out the two katanas on his back and was ready to attack. Though he was fascinated. His senses were heightened and he guessed it was because of the mask and his hood covering his vision. He knew who it was and at what speed they were nearing. Only groans and sounds of metal slashing once living now frozen flesh were heard. There was a pause before everyone understood that the newborns that entered the cloud of smoke met their doom, or were finally resting in peace. More new borns rushed in. Ichigo fought them off well, but as more lunged at him, the more the tension on him rose. The gas was blocking his senses in a way so he leaped out of the cloud of smoke to the side.

Now that he was out he could be visible to everyone, and his scent recognized by those who met him before. But at least now there was nothing in the way of his senses. He fought off the new borns well, but soon the blades of his katanas broke. They were strong, but they were not cutting soft flesh, they were basically severing rocks. He dropped the broken swords to the ground and withdrew two more.

He aimed for the necks, heads, chests, and other vital points, though the first three were most affective to be struck. But the vampires weren't going to go down just yet. Several aimed with their claws and legs at his legs in an attempt to injure him and swap him off his feet. He buried one katana in one newborn's leg and used it for support as he leaped up and kicked in the faces the ones around him away. It worked for a bit, the vampires were pushed back. So he landed back down and severed off the leg of the vampire in whom he buried his sword. But then the restless beasts aimed at him again so he leaped and made a flip backward in the air only to land behind the vampires and out of the circle they surrounded him in. They quickly turned with snarls and ran to him. But it was a bit easier for him to kill them now that he wasn't completely surrounded by them.

The Cullens and the werewolves saw that who ever this intruder was, he was good. For one, he was skilled with the weapons. For two, he knew vital points to strike to kill. And for three, he was human. They watched for a bit but soon they decided to come to him for help. No matter how good he was he was still a human, thus he'll soon be exhausted. If older vampires got tired before newborns then it was a miracle a human was still standing, much less kicking newborn ass.

Several newborns managed to scrape Ichigo with their claws, earning groans of pain from him and weakening him. But he wasn't going to give up yet. He took out a can of tear gas and spun around fast while spraying the liquid into the eyes of the newborns. They soon shrieked in pain and irritation of their eyes. He suspected they would recover soon, signs of which several were making already, but he wasn't going to give them that chance. He moved swiftly past them slashing their heads off. 15 vampires fell. To add to the total number of his kills he defeated 23. Not bad, but he lost two more swords, and there were still 76 vampires left.

Now that the werewolves and the Cullens jumped in, less vampires had their attention on him. He loaded his cross-bow and started shooting vampires that ran at him. He shot them square in the foreheads without missing. Several of them were taken down by werewolves as they ran at him. But soon he was out of arrows. So he withdrew the kunai and the shurikens. He killed several more, but more were closing in so he took out his last two long katanas, to leave only two short ones.

He was getting tired and that was bothering him. These were the disadvantages of relying on your zanpakuto and hollow powers and then losing your powers. But he was too stubborn to go down just yet. There was no way he would let these bastards live. After he was done here, he would go after Riley and that Victoria bitch. They were not newborns, thus they were weaker, but then again, more experienced. Anyway, he had his own experience. He still kicked Riley's ass even when the other twisted Ichigo's ankle. Even though it wasn't his style to use tricks such as grenades and tear gas in fights, he still had to rely on them because he didn't have his getsuga tensho anymore.

As more newborns got to him, they quickly got the upper hand. He was fighting them back well and killing them as well, but not well enough to keep himself from getting clawed. He grunted and leaped up as high as he could in the air and made a flip, landing on the ground and sliding back a bit on the slippery from the snow grass. But when he jumped one vampire caught his hood with her claws and pulled it down. So when he landed, his ginger hair was revealed. He innerly cursed, his identity was revealed to the Cullens and the werewolves. But he wasn't going to get distracted by this. Something gave him more strength to fight and as the newborns charged at him he seemed to have more luck killing them, but not until one buried their teeth in his neck.

His eyes widened in surprise and he froze for a moment, only for another vampire to claw his chest. He clenched his teeth and dropped his swords. He reached back and gripped the vampire behind him by the back of his shirt and threw him over the shoulder on the vampires in front of him, before the one behind him could crush his bones to add to the bite.

The vampire didn't release his neck as it was thrown at the others and tore the flesh even more. But Ichigo wasn't going to be stopped but this kind of wound. He received more serious wounds. He bent down evading a kick from another vampire behind him and picked up the swords he dropped. Then he spun and severed the legs of the vampire that aimed to kick him in the back. He stood up straight and killed the last of the final attacking group on him.

He panted heavily as he stood there. The ground was painted red with blood. The Cullens and the wolves stood there watching him. They were shocked then they saw that ginger hair by which they recognized Ichigo instantly. But as he stood there, panting heavily, blood rushing in a fast flow down his front and back from the bite on his neck, the look in his eyes and the mask he wore, for a moment they thought it wasn't a human standing in front of them. His eyes gleamed with fire of determination.

His eyes traveled slowly between the staring wolves and vampires. Then he saw a new-born running at Jacob from behind. He threw one katana. It pierced the newborn's head all the way through but not before the piece of shit broke Jacob's ribs in a hard, 'love-filled' embrace. Jacob let out a roar. Another werewolf lunged at the already dead vampire but still tore it to shreds.

Ichigo panted a little more. He seemed to have wasted all of his remaining energy on that last throw and dropped to his knees, then to the ground face down. The werewolves shifted back to their human form and carried Jacob away while the Cullens rushed to Ichigo's side. Bella and Edward arrived.

"What happened?" Edward asked as he looked at Ichigo.

Bella gasped, her eyes welling with tears. Alice appeared at Bella's side and hugged her, hiding her face in the crook of her neck to keep Bella from looking at Ichigo. Blood was spreading fast around him.

No one answered Edward as he had already read their thoughts to find out. Carlisle looked at Ichigo's neck. "He should be turning...but he isn't."

"What do you mean?" Esmé asked.

"Usually when a human is bitten and are turning they writhe and shriek in pain, you all know that well." Carlisle said, a knowing look appeared on everyone's faces.

"Then what's happening?" Rosalie asked.

"Is he dead? That was a pretty strong bite and I can tell he had already lost 3 litters of blood." Jasper said.

"No, he isn't dead. His heart beat is extremely slow and he is breathing." Carlisle said. "The vampire buried all of his teeth full force and didn't let go when Ichigo threw him over his shoulder. Some flesh was torn out. But he's still holding on."

Everyone was fascinated by such stubbornness and will to live. Never have they met anyone so.

"He needs to be taken away... The Volturi are here." Edward said.

Carlisle looked at Rosalie and Emmett. "Take him to our house and get my equipment ready. I will be back soon."

The two vampires exchanged looks, but did as they were told. Emmett carefully but quickly scooped Ichigo up in his arms and then the two of them took off. The rest of the Cullens stood there, ready to meet with the Volturi.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_Flashback:_

_Carlisle, Esmé, Edward, Jasper, Alice, and Bella stood awaiting the Volturi's arrival. Soon, Jane, Felix, Demetri, and Alec arrived. Jane observed the Cullens and the human. She noted that Bella was still human and that two of the Cullens were missing, Rosalie and Emmett._

_"It seems we are late." Jane spoke._

_"Victoria and her army have been dealt with." Carlisle said._

_"Oh?" Jane looked at one young new-born which stood hiding behind the Cullens. "I think you missed one."_

_"She is not like the others. Please give her a chance." Carlisle said._

_"We do not offer second chances." Jane said. "Felix."_

_Felix smirked and cracked his knuckles. He then went to the new-born girl. She panicked and started running, but he caught her and tore her to shreds. Carlisle closed his eyes and exhaled as Felix did his thing. He couldn't go against the Volturi no matter how he wished. He couldn't endanger his family anymore._

_Jane looked at Bella. "She's still human."_

_Bella, feeling that if nothing would be said then someone would most definitely get hurt, if not killed. She knew Jane's and Felix's powers from back when she was in Volterra when she saved Edward from death. So she spoke up. "The date had already been set!"_

_The Volturi looked at her, Edward as well. Jane's eyes wandered around the battle field once more. They narrowed as she observed the faint signs of smoke from smoke grenades, the smell of tear gas, also broken katanas in some spots, and where those broken swords lay, there were also groups of dead new-borns that were slain with the now broken swords. She also noted the large circle of human blood on the snow, but she did not say anything. Edward narrowed his eyes, reading Jane's thoughts. Jane shot a look at him, then she turned and started walking away. "Let's go, we're done here." With that, the Volturi began to walk off._

_Once far enough from the radius of Edward's powers' reach, Demetri spoke up. "That's human blood on the snow... It belongs to that human who fought with Riley back in Seattle."_

_"This becomes more and more interesting... I wonder how many more humans know of our existence." Felix spoke._

_"This is not interesting... This is dangerous. Because of the Cullens, our existence is in danger." Jane spoke._

_"We need to report this to our masters instantly when we get back." Alec spoke._

_End Flashback._

* * *

Ichigo lay on a bed in one of the empty rooms in the Cullens' house. Carlisle had tended to the wound on Ichigo's neck: disinfected it, stitched up what could be stitched up, and bandaged up his neck. The Cullens though didn't know what to expect. They knew that if a human was bitten they changed, but Ichigo didn't. He didn't writhe in agony and didn't shriek, he was still in deep slumber: his heart was beating slowly and his breathing was faint, but he was alive.

Carlisle came into his room to check on him. Ichigo seemed to be less sickly pale. The dark spots under his eyes got a bit fainter but his lips were still dry. He looked over him visually first, then he slowly took off the bandages in an intent to put more medicine on the wound but his eyes widened when he removed the bandages. The flesh had merged together and skin had grown over the bite a bit. But the skin was uneven and pink being a scar. The whole fact that the wound so deadly closed up in 10 hours, too fast for a human, was enough to raise suspicion and caution in the vampire. He simply changed the bandages and went to his family to tell them.

"So you're saying that he healed in 10 hours?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, and he could be fully healed any moment now." Carlisle replied.

"I think we can already conclude that he isn't human." Edward said.

"What are we going to do about this?" Rosalie asked.

"He came to aid us. I think that without him more of us would have more losses." Alice said.

"What if all of this was to confuse us?" Emmett asked.

"We should be careful but also thankful to him." Carlisle said.

* * *

Ichigo's eyes opened. He stared blankly at the ceiling for a while with half lidded eyes. He was weak, but strong enough to wake. He was sore all over. The claw marks on his body had already vanished, and the scar on his neck was almost gone as well. Carlisle turned from the others to look up the stairs.

"He awoke..." The others rose, and followed Carlisle up the stairs to Ichigo's room in a blur. Carlisle appeared in the door way. He looked at Ichigo. Ichigo's eyes moved from the ceiling to look at the blonde vampire. Carlisle slowly walked to his side. "How are you feeling?" He asked with caution and concern in his voice.

"Like never before..." Ichigo answered. He smirked, then closed his eyes and sighed.

"Well, if you're in the mood to joke then you should be fine." Emmett said.

Ichigo let out a dry cough. Esmé vanished in a blur and appeared just as fast, now with a glass of water. She came to Ichigo's side, she carefully raised his head and pressed the glass of water to Ichigo's lips, slowly lifting it and letting some water into his dry mouth. Ichigo downed the water and then his head was laid back down on the pillow. "Thank you."

Esmé smiled. "No thanks needed." She set the empty glass on the night stand on the right side of Ichigo's bed.

"So why don't you tell us what you are?" Emmett asked, eager and suspicious.

"Emmett, not now." Carlisle said.

Ichigo closed his eyes, then opened them, looking up at the ceiling again. "Whatever I was... I'm not anymore."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

"I mean what I say." Ichigo replied.

"Then what were you?" Jasper asked.

"You don't want to know." Ichigo replied. "Believe me, you don't."

The Cullens exchanged looks, then looked at him.

"It's not right for dead men to walk among the living..." Ichigo said.

Everyone looked down, Emmett snarled. "What do you even know!?" He appeared at Ichigo's side, ready to pick him up and punch the hell out of him but Carlisle extended a hand to him, stopping him. Emmett glared at Ichigo, then at Carlisle, and stepped back. Rosalie hugged him.

Ichigo smirked and chuckled weakly. "Oh trust me... I know." Everyone looked at him. "You don't know how many times I died and came back to life." Ichigo said. "But," He looked at Carlisle. "I am no danger to you... As long as you don't hurt innocent people."

Everyone exchanged looks.

"I can say only one thing," Ichigo said. "Don't try to find out more, because the more you know the more danger you put yourselves in." Everyone listened to him intently. "Those with whom I used to work alongside would not allow their existence to be known so widely. And you cannot take them on... Take my word for it. If I was able to kill new-borns while being human, then they will kill you as easily as they breathe being what they are. Take my word for it."

Carlisle nodded. "We understand. Thank you for telling us." He looked at the others, then at him. "But you must be careful as well. There are also others like us, who have a lot of control and influence of us and other covens... And they are very strict about rules."

Ichigo smirked. "Oh, I know that well."

"Then we understand each other." Carlisle gave a slight nod.

"Yes." Ichigo said.

"You may stay here as much as you wish." Esmé said.

"No... I have to go back." Ichigo said. "My family will be worried about me."

"Don't worry, I already called your father and told him you are with us." Carlisle said.

"You did what!?" Ichigo jolted up, eyes wide. Carlisle jumped back a bit, everyone flinched and was ready to lunge at him and hold him down. His eyes were wide, he panted. His eyes ran back and forth in panic. He rose his hands to his head and clutched his hair.

"I guess I shouldn't have told him, but I couldn't say anything else because Isshin called me himself." Carlisle said.

Ichigo's eyes shot up to him.

"Yes, he called me and asked if I knew where you were." Carlisle said.

"Does he know about you?" Ichigo asked.

"I think he guesses, but he never gave signs of knowing." Carlisle said.

Ichigo smirked. "So he noticed that I took his weapons."

"I suppose so." Carlisle said.

"That's quite an arsenal you have with you." Jasper said.

"I took everything I thought was useful against vampires." Ichigo said.

"They are useless unless you know where to hit," Edward said. "Which you did."

"I guessed well on my previous encounter..." Ichigo said.

"You met vampires before?" Alice asked.

"I fought with Riley in Seattle when he attacked me." Ichigo said, everyone exchanged looks.

"You escaped him?" Rosalie asked.

"I managed. He gave me a beating but I elbowed him in the throat and ran off afterwards." Ichigo said.

"I see. The elbow is, after all, the strongest part of the body." Carlisle said.

Esmé spoke. "Let us go and give you some time to think things over and relax." Everyone started to leave the room. "We'll make you something to eat. What do you want?"

"Anything is fine." Ichigo said.

Esmé smiled and nodded, then all left the room.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After having rested a few more hours and then eaten, Ichigo finally got ready and was about to walk out before Carlisle came to him. He had the 4 long katanas that he picked up the day before from after the fight with Victoria's army. They were wrapped in a cloth to keep Ichigo from cutting himself with the blades. Ichigo looked at the swords, then looked at Carlisle.

"Thank you." Ichigo took the blades. Alice lent Ichigo one of her black leather back packs to carry the weapons. His clothing had to be changed as well, aside from his boots and leather gloves. The pants, belt, shirt, and leather jacket were all torn up and had to be burned, or so the Cullens disposed of them to get rid of the scent of blood faster. Jasper, being almost the same size as Ichigo, lent him spare clothing.

Carlisle gave him a nod, then watched as Ichigo walked out the door, down the steps, and down the road away from his house. Then Carlisle turned and looked at the others who were standing not too far, watching. "I think we have another family member."

Ichigo was about to open the door to his house when it was opened from the inside. Ichigo froze as it did and then his eyes met with Isshin's. Ichigo swallowed, awaiting to be yelled at or to receive a punch, when in fact his father just pulled him into a tight hug. There were tears in Isshin's eyes.

"Welcome back, son." Isshin sobbed.

There were tears in Ichigo's own eyes. "I'm back..." He dropped the back pack and the blades wrapped in the cloth which he carried in his other hand on the floor and hugged his father back.

Yuzu and Karin rushed to the door and stopped to see their brother and father in a hug. Yuzu's eyes filled with tears and then the girls ran to hug their brother. Isshin let go off Ichigo and stepped back a bit, giving his children some space. Ichigo wrapped his arms around his sisters' waists and picked the two girls up as they wrapped their arms around his neck. Yuzu cried in Ichigo's shoulder. "Welcome back, Ichi-nii." Yuzu said with a sniffle.

"Yeah... I'm back." Ichigo said. He kissed both of his sisters' cheeks and then let them down. Karin noticed the broken blades wrapped in the cloth on the floors as some slid out when they were dropped. But she didn't say anything, she only smirked. Her brother will never change. Oh that Ichigo.

Ichigo gave his father a slight nod, then picked up the wrapped up broken swords along with Alice's back pack and went up to his room. He put the back pack and the wrapped up swords on his table, then he headed to the bathroom. He removed Jasper's clothing and got into the tub, starting to shower.

Once out, he changed into his own clothing: a pair of black jeans shorts, his dark swampy green t-shirt with the dark silvery grey screaming skull design, and black moccasins. He then took Jasper's clothing and went to the first floor to the bathroom which had the washing machine and put them in to wash.

Yuzu walked up to the bathroom and stopped in the door way. "Hey, Ichi-nii."

He looked up. "Hey, Yuzu."

"There's some miso soup with dumplings. But if you want something else, I'll make it." Yuzu said.

Ichigo smiled. "No, that's perfect." He walked to her and softly scratched the back of her head as he planted a kiss on her forehead. Then he went into the dining room.

Yuzu smiled and followed him. She went into the kitchen and poured some freshly made and hot miso soup into a bowl. Then she took a small plate and put some freshly baked dumplings on it and then carried the food to set it before her dear brother.

Ichigo smiled at her when she set the food before him. "Thank you."

She smiled back. "No thanks needed." Then she turned and went back into the kitchen to finish washing the dishes and silver ware that were in the sink.

As Ichigo ate, he thought of why his father welcomed him the way he did. And why he called Carlisle as if knowing he might know something about me. When he finished his food, he took the plates to the kitchen.

Yuzu took the dish and the bowl from her brother and set it in the sink.

"Thank you for the food, that was delicious." Ichigo thanked her.

She smiled. "You know I try the best for all of you."

"Yes, I know." Ichigo kissed Yuzu's head and then went back up to his room. He unfolded the broken blades from the cloth wrapping them and carefully picked them up in his hands, looking over them.

"You know, I always knew there'd come a day when you'd put them to use." Isshin said from his spot where he was leaning in the door way of Ichigo's room. Ichigo turned back to look at his father. Isshin stood up straight and walked to his son. All the while Ichigo watching him. Isshin carefully took the broken blade form his son's hands. He looked at it, turning it as the sun light was reflected off of it. "These used to be zanpakuto." He said as he looked over the blade, but then he set it down and picked up another.

Ichigo watched him as he looked at the blade and asked. "What happened to their masters?" He looked at his father again.

"Killed by their own zanpakuto under Muramasa's control." Isshin said. "But once they've done it, the realisation of their deeds gave birth to grief in their hearts which was stronger than Muramasa's control over them. In their sadness they turned into these katanas and isolated themselves from the world." Isshin looked at Ichigo. "Did you feel something when you held these blades? When you used them to cut those newborns?"

Ichigo took a moment, staring at nothing really as he thought. "I don't know... It was weird, I felt something but didn't know what... I was too caught up in the battle to notice anything really."

"But what did you feel?"

"Well... When I put on that tengu mask... And had the hood of the cape covering my head completely, I couldn't see anything, but I still knew where what was and who neared me and at what speed." Ichigo said.

"That was not the mask. The mask is just an ordinary traditional mask. It was the fact that you had your hood over your head that you felt the way you did. Why your senses heightened too much." Isshin said.

Ichigo looked at him. "What do you mean?"

Isshin looked at the blade he currently held. The katana was black over all and had a silver, sharp, wavy edge. "This is Mekura."

"Blindness?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes." Isshin replied. He picked up one of the 4 hilts, the one that belonged to the blade. The hilt was white with black strings decorating it. On the back of it was a kanji for blindness. "In Shikai it is used to cut off the sense of sight from its shinigami's enemies. In Bankai though... It cut's off its master's sight, which is blinding them. But in return, it heightens other senses to a point where they become his sight."

"I see..." Ichigo said.

"But when it broke, you didn't stop feeling everything around you, did you?" Isshin asked.

"No, I didn't. Until one vampire pulled my hood off." Ichigo replied.

"Before your hood was pulled off, you were in the state of Bankai." Isshin said.

Ichigo's eyes shot up to his father. "What?"

"Yes." Isshin said. "This blade accepted you. Even after it broke, it still kept giving you its power until your sight was returned to you."

Ichigo looked away again. "So what... My shinigami power's are returning?" There was excitement present in his voice. He visible started to breathe faster in anticipation.

"No." Came his father's voice.

Ichigo's eyes shot up to him again. "What do you mean? Then how? How do I feel supernatural beings? How do I heal so fast? How am I able to fight back?"

"You lost your shinigami powers but not your Hollow powers." Isshin answered.

Ichigo looked down again.

Isshin looked at him. "You do remember when I told you about your mother's true identity? And why your hair is the way it is?"

Ichigo gave a nod.

"That Hollow was a part of you even before you were born. It is merged with your soul. You are him and he is you. You will always have him and he will never let himself be cut off from you completely. He is a stubborn being, just like you are." Isshin put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "Son... You may not be a shinigami, but you still have your duties. And you proved that yesterday when you fought with those vampires. You fought without a single thought of dying. Hell, you even decided you would go into battle the second you found out what you needed to know. The thoughts of going back or dying never crossed your mind. You were doing what you were best at doing, protecting."

Ichigo looked into his father's eyes as his father spoke.

"It doesn't matter what you are, it matter who you are. No matter where you go and no matter what you go through, you will never change. That is how you are Ichigo. You were born to be a savior. So keep up the good work." Isshin gave his son's shoulder a pat before he walked past him to leave Ichigo's room.

"Dad..." Ichigo said as he looked down at Mekura, stopping Isshin from walking away. "Thank you." He turned to look at his father as he said.

Isshin smiled and nodded, then turned and walked out.

Ichigo turned back to look down at the broken Blindness. He picked up the blade and turned it over a few times as he looked at it carefully and closely, then he picked up the hilt. He slowly brought the hilt and the blade close to each other till they touched, and when they did... They merged into a fixed sword.


	15. Chapter 15

Spoiler Alert: For those of you who have read the manga you already know why Ichigo's hair is the way it is and what's his mother's true identity. But I will reveal that in the future chapters to contribute those details to the story. Some of you might not like the way I mixed up the events taking the one about Ichigo's hair and his mother's identity all the way from the Quincy arc and moving it all the way to after the Winter War but that's how I find the story will be interesting as it progresses and other characters find out more about Ichigo. And it's alright if you don't like it, I respect your opinions, and please respect mine. But please keep your language clean. Also, if you have any suggestions or improvements you think I should make then please mail me or post in the reviews, but again, please keep your language clean.

For those of you who don't like it that I am leaving out details, leaving you in the dark of some information, I'm doing that to make it more interesting tiofind out in the future when I'll reveal that information so be patient, questions will be answered in the future chapters.

Chapter 15

Ichigo came to school by his own car. Once again, everyone stared, and some even had their jaw's dropped. The girls were squealing and gasping while the guys eyed Ichigo with glares. But some were even impressed and intended to become friends with him, each for their own reason.

Bella's truck was parked a few cars away to the left of where Ichigo parked. She stood near her truck talking with a few of her friends when Ichigo drove in and after parking, came out. She looked at him, then smirked when her friends were speechless.

"Just who is this guy!?" Jessica asked in astonishment.

Some girls even dared to eye Ichigo with lust, which drove their boyfriends nuts.

The Cullens stood in their own corner near their cars as they looked at Ichigo. Ichigo nodded to them in greeting as he came up to them. He had two black shopping bags in his hands, one had Alice's back pack and another Jasper's clothing which he lent to Ichigo. Ichigo handed them their things. "Thank you."

Alice smiled sweetly as she took the bag with her back pack. "No worries."

Jasper gave a nod to Ichigo as he took the bag with his clothing. He went to the trunk of his car and opened it. He looked at his clothing in the bag before putting it into the trunk. He brought it closer to his face and took a sniff. It smelled of washing machine powder and Ichigo.

Edward turned his head a bit toward Jasper's car, his vision was shielded by the open trunk but he heard Jasper's thoughts.

Jasper's eyes became black for a moment, then returned to their golden. He put the bag down into the trunk, Alice then hopped beside him. She put her bag with her back pack into the trunk as well. She smiled at Jasper who smiled back. He closed the trunk of his car and then all the Cullens along with Ichigo went to their classes.

* * *

In Volterra:

Marcus, Aro, and Caius sat upon their thrones, taking in the information about this ginger haired human was able to beat so many newborns and get away with his life.

Caius spoke up "We should act fast. The fact that Bella knows of our kind and that she is still a human is plenty enough danger. But this is already crossing the line. The Cullens must be held responsible!"

"I agree with you, brother... But I think we will benefit if we got to have this young man on our side. He also possesses a gift. A powerful gift. If we had him with us, think of how our coven would strengthen and become more feared and obeyed?" Aro said.

"We should also take into account the fact that he might turn on us." Marcus said.

"Oh, but we will use Corin's gift to keep him with us." Aro said.

* * *

Back in Forks, after school at the Cullens':

Alice gasped as another vision ran through her. Her eyes widened and then they blinked rapidly as she began to feel weak and was caught by Jasper before she fell to the floor. He led her to sit on a chair and crouched beside her.

"Alice. What are you seeing?" Jasper asked with concern.

Alice stared down at the floor with wide eyes, panting, then her eyes shot up to the others as they gathered around her. "The Volturi... They want to take Ichigo."

Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Another encounter with the unwanted coven.

"Why must we climb out of our skins for these humans? Bella brought us enough trouble, now him!" Rosalie was angered. "Why not just hand him to them? What's so special in him? It's not like he's anybody's true mate here," Her eyes wandered around the room as she looked at the others. "Is he?"

"Rosalie, that's not the point." Carlisle said. "Ichigo fought off those newborns all on his own. He has high level of skill, maybe even a lot of experience. Also he does not reject us, he is considerate of our situation which he probably has been in himself."

"Rosalie, think of what would happen if the Volturi got him on their side. What affect they will have on other covens, what wars they might wage." Edward said.

Rosalie looked down. "It's all because of these humans... It's all because we are so kind to them!"

Emmett hugged Rosalie who started to cry.

"What if we turned him? What if we made him one of our coven?" Jasper spoke up.

"And what? You'll be the one to turn him?" Emmett looked at Jasper.

Jasper's eyes blackened and he hissed at Emmett.

"Stop it you two." Esmé stood between them.

The two eyed each other before turning to look at Carlisle.

"We can do that... But we must also consider his feelings." Carlisle said. "We might form a gap between each other and then he might join the Volturi. Also, we should take into consideration the fact that he was already bitten, and didn't turn."

"Already seeing him and finding out about his personality from the observations... I think it is wise to assume that he won't side with anyone who causes pain and destruction." Edward said.

"We should protect him. And I think it would be wise for him to know a little about our history." Esmé suggested.

"Reveal our secrets to him when he doesn't want to reveal his own?" Emmett did not agree.

"Emmett, you saw him when he fought. Those moves take years of practice to perfect. Also the endurance. He didn't even cry out when he was clawed or bitten." Carlisle said. "He also said that if he could beat those newborns the way he did, then we should take into consideration what his previous allies are capable of."

"And what if it is all a trap? What if he's a spy?" Rosalie spoke.

"He isn't." Edward said, everyone looked at him. "I may not be able to read his thoughts, but I can tell by his aura and the look in his eyes. Yes, there is a lot we don't know about him and there is a dangerous side to him, but the real him is stubborn and full of determination and just. Back there, he probably fought not for us, not for Bella, not even for this town, but for his sisters and father."

Everyone looked at him as they listened.

Edward continued. "Bella mentioned that the topic of his mother is a touchy one. Maybe what ever happened to her motivated him so much that he won't stand to lose anyone else precious to him. Maybe he even blames himself. Bella also said that might be the case because of how he looked when his mother was brought up."

"That might be the case and that might not." Alice said. Everyone looked at her. "I'm just saying."

Carlisle spoke up. "What ever he wishes to share, he will when the time comes. But we will protect him as well as his family. Isshin is a very good friend of mine and I know he can be trusted."

Everyone exchanged looks. If Carlisle was sure of something, then it most likely was the way it was. While some might've not completely agreed, or not agreed at all, they still obeyed their coven leader because they knew his decisions were right.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

_Flashback:_

_"Alright, Ichigo." Isshin spoke. "I suppose you don't want to leave your duties of protector."_

_"No, I don't." Ichigo replied._

_"Alright, this is how we're going to stabilize your connection with your spiritual powers." Isshin said. "I can't say you lost your shinigami side completely, rather it is locked away and dormant until you have another shinigami transfer their powers into you to awaken your shinigami powers. But your Hollow has access to them. You have a weak and unstable but still a good connection with him."_

_"Why didn't he come out in all those battles?" Ichigo asked._

_"Because, as you remember, he comes out on his own only when you are near death or have an extremely life-or-death important goal set before you." Isshin explained. "But I am sure he stirs in excitement and worry whenever you fight. He won't let you die that easily, you know that."_

_"Yes." Ichigo said._

_"Alright, now let's discuss how we are going to stabilize your bond with him." Isshin said. "As we tried many times and hit the same dead-end each time, going into your inner world is off limits to you now. Or at least the way we tried it like when you had your shinigami powers."_

_Ichigo listened to his father intently._

_Isshin continued. "Humanity found other ways to gain spiritual pressure in order to have a connection with the_ _spiritual world. One of those ways is practices such as Yoga or Meditation."_

_Ichigo raised a brow. "You're gonna have me practice flexibility?"_

_"It is good for you so it's like killing two birds with one stone: getting your form and health into better shape and restoring a bond with your Hollow." Isshin explained. "But then again, we both know you get easily distracted and can't always concentrate well so I supposed meditation is out of the question. So..."_

_"So?" Ichigo asked._

_"We're gonna have you form a bond with Mekura." Isshin extended the black and white Blindness forward to Ichigo._

_Ichigo looked at it, then slowly reached for it and took it, then looked at Isshin. "How is it going to affect Zangetsu?"_

_Isshin thought for a moment. "Knowing him... He is going to protest and if Mekura does find a way into your soul, he is going to terrorize it."_

_Ichigo shivered at the thought. "Yeah..."_

_Isshin stood there thinking for a moment, none of the ways so far would guarantee success._

_Ichigo looked at Isshin. "Dad?"_

_Isshin looked at Ichigo. "Yes, son?"_

_"Why do you have all those weapons in the basement?" Ichigo asked._

_Isshin smirked. "Even though I became a human and left my duties, I was still in charge of taking care of masterless zanpakuto. It's actually no surprise you found them when you did."_

_Ichigo's eyes widened. "You knew? All this time, you knew?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Why didn't you tell me? I thought you were messed up in some secret shit!"_

_"It wasn't time for you to know yet, you were only 11. But the fact that you found them shows that you had a connection with the zanpakuto."_

_"Is every single thing there a zanpakuto?"_

_"No. The tear gas, grenades, bows and arrows, and some guns and bullets as well as daggers and other things are not. But you will be able to tell them apart from the zanpakuto soon enough."_

_"What if Mekura doesn't accept me?"_

_"It accepted you the moment you laid eyes on it. It laid there all these years, dying in anticipation of the day you'd lay your gaze upon it."_

_"But Zangetsu and Mekura are different types of zanpakuto."_

_"Yes, but the type of the zanpakuto depends on its master."_

_"Zangetsu is more of a close-range weapon... Mekura is more of a far-range weapon."_

_"Not really, it depends on how you use the zanpakuto. Because you are used to close-range, Zangetsu always comes in contact with your opponents weapon. For Mekura it was different. But if you start using Mekura the way you used Zangetsu, at close range I mean, you may discover new powers in it. It's you who shapes your weapon, the weapon is just an extension of you."_

* * *

Now:

Ichigo was jogging fast through the forest. He was doing his morning jogs as always, or at least whenever he had the chance or felt like it. All the while practising his breathing and training his heart.

A pair of wolf eyes gazed at him intently and he knew, but he paid no mind. He learned to distinguish between vampire and wolf gaze. Isshin said it was because his aura got more sensitive now that he was weaker and that was as self-defense, something regular humans have to train for long years. to gain He though, was a special case.

Leah narrowed her eyes. She still didn't believe he could be trusted. No wolf actually believed, their suspicions rose even more now that Ichigo was closer to the Cullens. But then again, there was a bit of trust between the wolves and the vampires because of Bella. It's just that some where more cautious than others.

She growled a bit, then turned around and ran back, in the opposite direction in which Ichigo went. She also didn't like how Ichigo had Jacob's attention on him. And Jacob seemed to look at him differently... As if he... Imprinted on him.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts. No, she would not have it that way. Bella ruined the trust between the wolves enough already. She won't have Ichigo destroy the last bits of what remained.


	17. Chapter 17

Time skip to the next year, closer to Bella's and Edward's marriage. In this chapter I will tell what has been going on with Ichigo throughout the year and also answer some of my readers' questions as to what his abilities will be and about Zangetsu. Now, I won't reveal every single ability because I want my readers to be excited and await the following chapters with anticipation to find out what exactly are all of those new abilities Ichigo got. So keep on reading to find out! xD

Chapter 17

It's been a year since Ichigo moved to Forks with his family. He was able to get used to the place. Despite his encounters with the supernatural, Forks was to his liking. In school he was at the top of every class, aside from P.E. In P.E. he was second after Emmett, and the two of them knew why: one was a human, the other was a vampire. But the reason for that was partly because it was regular sports where Ichigo didn't concentrate mentally and physically on winning like he did in battles.

Also, he made quite a few new friends, girls mostly wanted to be friends with him, and even more. But he always found a way to politely hint to the ladies that he wasn't having a relationship in mind, yet at least. And thus the girls were still charmed but unhurt. Though the guys didn't take much liking to him, most of them at least. Some guys became good friends with him, others started friendship for their own benefit but he quickly discovered their plans and brought them to a crash. Aside from the guys who were his friends, or at least on good terms with him, others, whether saw him as a rival and didn't get close to him, or were just looking for trouble, and they got it. He got into a few fights a few times because the local kids decided to pick a fight, there were three main reasons: girls, just looking for a fight, and, as you might've already guessed, his hair. And each time he kicked their asses and walked away without a single scratch. Once though, a teacher did spot him in a fight and Isshin was called to school to speak with the principal, but because Ichigo had good grades and other than the fights his behavior was okay, the principal just had a talk with his father and let it slide. One time, the neighborhood thugs scratched out on his car 'Strawberry Sucks Massive D...!' and he made them paint his car after almost putting them into comas. And he made them perfect the art of car painting until they got it right and the car was looking brand new.

Ichigo though, had no rest and little free time. His busy time he spent in school, helping his sisters around the house if needed, picking up his sisters from school when his father had a lot of work, which was often, or other things that needed his attention. But on whatever day when he had free time, be it a school day or on weekends, he spent time in secrecy forming bonds with all the zanpakuto that his father had as well as trying to restore his bond with his own. But the blade seemed to be out of his reach, though the Hollow did answer his calls. Ichigo was unable to enter his soul to visually see his Hollow and the Karakura Town, which was how the inside of his soul looked, but he was able to hear his Hollow's voice when in meditation or when the 'Damned Soul' called out to him on its own.

Bonding with the zanpakuto did prove to be a challenge. Some accepted him easily and taught him their powers while others plainly rejected him. But he was persistent, and in the end, being the conquerer that he is, he got them to accept him. Each day, he would spend in training his battle skills, perfecting his new abilities which were given to him by the zanpakuto, and trying to find a way to at least be able to feel Zangetsu. But it seemed impossible... Because the real Zangetsu was with him from before he was born. (Now those who read the Quincy arc in the manga know what I mean.)

* * *

Carlisle was able to bring out a hypothesis judging by the results of his testing as to why Ichigo did not turn when he was bitten during that battle with the new-borns. Of course, he had Ichigo's and Isshin's permission, since they trusted Carlisle enough to tell him it was important to them, and with some of Ichigo's blood as a sample to be tested on, Carlisle finally found out, or was really close to the fact as to why. It was because the venom never had enough time to take affect. Something inside attacked it and disabled it before it could even start taking affect. He guessed it could be something in Ichigo's DNA, and Ichigo and Isshin took that as a possible chance because of Ichigo's rare mixed blood, and also that there is something inside Ichigo that doesn't want Ichigo to be turned. That too, was accepted, though as a more likely possibility.

* * *

Ichigo's sisters grew used to the place as well. They made a lot of new friends and Karin even got a boyfriend! They shared interests in sports and were good at them, also music which was rock, on Karin's part mostly Japanese but she liked foreign groups too, and overall they were good for each other.

Yuzu was liked by many boys as well but she didn't seem to find anyone for who she had those kind of feelings of more than friends. But boys seemed to worship her. They saw all the characteristics in her that they wanted to see in a woman, she was very lady-like and good in things that a woman should be good in.

As time neared graduation, Bella and Edward revealed to Ichigo that they were going to get married. Ichigo was a bit surprised, but not as much. After all, it was expected. The two were perfect for each other. Ichigo grew closer with the Cullens and he was considered to be their family. Of course, not all accepted him at first, just like with Bella, but they grew to like him over the time. Seeing that he never had it in his plans to become a vampire even after finding out about their existence, it became especially easy for Rosalie to accept him.

He often times was at the Cullens' house, mostly for projects that were at times assigned with them. Other times he would just be invited to hang out, mostly by Alice because she enjoyed spending time with him and found it easy to talk with him. And sometimes Ichigo and his family would come to the Cullens to celebrate a holiday, if it was an American one. For Japanese ones the Cullens came to the Kurosakis. Yuzu and Karin found out about the existence of the vampires and heard of the werewolves, and as much as they were surprised, they accepted it easily. The Cullens though were baffled that the girls were so accepting, but the supernatural was nothing new to them, and really, in a way it was best if they knew, because now that Alice found out that the Voluturi had Ichigo in their interests, the girls had to be prepared for the encounter with them.

Yuzu and Karin sometimes came to the Cullens as well, with their brother. They would spend time in warm conversation with Esmé, Alice, and sometimes even the 'icy rose'. But more often they would watch as their brother practised his fighting skills and played sports with the vampires. The practise really benefited him. Jasper found it difficult at first to be around this many humans. Of course, there were even more humans at school, but now he would have to smell the scent of life for longer hours, even at his house where he could sometimes relax from the tension of being surrounded by 'food' and trying to fight his instincts to 'eat'. But soon he got over it, because after all, he had his eyes and sense of smell mostly on Ichigo. Alice knew how Ichigo was especially captivating to Jasper and supported her love in his training and self-control.

Ichigo, after perfecting more or less his new zanpakuto abilities, discovered a way to bring his spiritual powers into the real life. He didn't have to take on a soul form in order to walk on air or set a soul free into the next life. After long months of hard work filled with effort in which he put all of his heart, he finally managed to perfect his abilities. But he had yet to discover bankai with his every new sword. Another important thing he learned was to keep his zanpakuto always with him and easily accessable while out of sight from other. With one of the zanpakuto's abilities to turn space and time, he was able to hide his weapons inside his very soul. All he had to do his breathe out the sword's name and the ability would take effect. But he did that only when he had to hide or take out his weapons. And he did that by saying the name and then reaching into his chest where his heart was, but as his hand came in contact with his chest, the space turned and he was reaching into his soul, and what ever blade or blades he needed, he would find them easily. That was a big plus in his managing to keep his growing abilities more or less hidden. He didn't hide from the Cullens that he was training to be strong since the two families were on more or less trusting terms so they shared a few secrets, but the Kurosakis never really told the whole story, whatever it was, and the Cullens never told all of their history. Both were fine though, they understood well how important secrets were and what responsibility fell with their discovery.

Ichigo went around a few times sending wandering souls to the after-life, but the first place he visited was Seattle. It was obvious that after the massacre there, there'd be many wandering souls and they had to be helped before they went Hollow because if they did, Soul Society would have problems and the people in Seattle as well. Another reason was that a large number of wandering souls attracted Hollows, so Ichigo had to hurry in training to perform konso while his soul was still in his body.

Isshin expected that Soul Society would contact Ichigo again, should they discover his new abilities, and he was sure that they did know, but he didn't know as to why they haven't still contacted him. Ichigo's spiritual energy grew to enormous size, like 10 times what he had, and should he get his shinigami powers back and restore the bond with Zangetsu, he'd sure fall into the top 5 strongest shinigami in Soul Society's history. That sole fact that he is able to use shinigami powers while in his human body was unbelievable enough, but having bonds with more than one zanpakuto, that seemed to be impossible before Ichigo made it possible. After all... This is Ichigo, and when he gets his mind set on something, he gets it done, always!


	18. Chapter 18

Okay, so I thought there is enough of Ichigo/Cullen interaction. Now let's see some Ichigo/Werewolf interaction.

Chapter 18

Lately Jacob seemed to be on edge, always stressed and restless. The day when the love of his life would marry his most loathed enemy was nearing and he could do nothing to stop that. And with every passing day his mood only seemed to worsen. He was violent and easily picked fights. When he was alone he'd go into the forest and blow off some steam by hunting down animals and killing them, just for the sole purpose of leaving less for the vamps to feed on so that they'd get hungry and bite a human so that when the peace treaty ends he can personally kill Edward!

He seemed to eye Ichigo with special hate as well. Even this ginger was taken by the vampires. And he thought Ichigo was smart. He was disappointed in himself for overestimating the human. It's whether humans were born stupid lately or the vampires had done something to attract them so well to themselves.

He avoided Ichigo and when he met with him, he eyed him with anger, and then would walk away in silence. Ichigo at first tried talking with him but that only escalated to a fight and so they were pulled apart by Sam's pack and the Cullens. Bella had a serious talk with Jacob, tried to tell him that he shouldn't hate Ichigo but it was pointless, it seemed that Jacob had already marked Ichigo on the hopeless and next-to-become-vampire list.

The situation between Ichigo and Jacob only worsened when Jacob saw Ichigo a few times help with the preparations for the wedding. Jacob wolfed out but instead of breaking everything he simply took off.

Bella was agitated. She thought she had talked to Jacob a lot about the wedding earlier and thought he understood, but it seemed to be the opposite. At first, she thought his uncontrollable behavior was because of her, and yes at first it was, but then she noticed by the looks he was giving Ichigo that she wasn't the only reason, and actually wasn't the main reason anymore. In a way, she was jealous at first, because after all, she did love Jacob, even if not as much as Edward, but soon she came to realise that him having his eyes on Ichigo was actually for the better. If Jacob found in Ichigo what she didn't give him, then the weight of guilt on her heart would become lighter just a tad bit.

* * *

Ichigo was on his morning jog, running through the forest, soon to come to a stop when he heard something heavy fall, like a tree. He slid down the hill till he came to a stop. He paused his music and pulled his headphones down for them to be around his neck. Then he heard another tree drop. He followed the sound and then saw another tree drop. As he got closer, he heard huffs and loud punching of fists against a tree trunk, as well as claws tearing the bark off. He stopped on top of a cliff of a small hill only to see Jacob a meter bellow, cursing under his breath, huffing, and taking his anger out on the poor tree that was probably wondering what it had done and was praying to God that he spare it. But no, the prayers were not answered and it met the same fate as its brother.

Jacob stood there panting, his fists bled but healed fast. He smelled the familiar, welcomed yet hated at the same time scent. He inhaled sharply through his nose and then asked. "What the fuck do you want? Vampire bitch!"

Ichigo restrained himself from replying with the same 'politeness'. He simple inhaled and then sighed. He jumped down from the cliff of the hill to land on the same level of ground as Jacob. "Come on man... This isn't getting anywhere. Let's-"

"How long is it till they turn you, huh?" Jacob appeared in front of him, face to face, glaring into his eyes. "Is it after your 18th birthday as well?"

Ichigo stared into Jacob's eyes for a while before replying. "I can't be turned. I was already bitten and nothing happened."

Jacob growled. "Oh I bet Carlisle will figure something out if he already hadn't." He eyed Ichigo before returning his glare back to the ginger's eyes. "What is it with you humans lately? Were you always this stupid or is it just this time of the evolution where you are born with such stupidity?"

Ichigo looked at Jacob. "It is neither."

"Well it doesn't seem to be the case." Jacob snarled. He pushed Ichigo against the earthy wall of the cliff and sank his hands into the earth as he looked Ichigo in the eyes. "Why Ichigo? Why them? I thought you were smart, so why the damn blood suckers?"

"I know why you are like this." Ichigo said.

"Oh?" Jacob's eyes narrowed.

"You are agitated that Bella has to marry Edward, your rival in the competition for Bella's love who won, and your natural enemy." Ichigo spoke as he looked into Jacob's eyes.

Jacob looked into Ichigo's eyes with his narrowed ones. "I knew Bella was lost the second I heard her ask me for the first time about the Cullens. But you...Why?"

"They have their good sides. They know what they are and still they try to be closer to light rather than darkness." Ichigo explained, looking into Jacob's eyes without blinking.

"And that's it? No over excitement because of the sparkling, no falling in love with the looks, no sexual fantasies?" Jacob asked, still not believing Ichigo.

Ichigo furrowed his brows a bit, mostly at the last question, and took a few second before replying. "No...None of the three."

Jacob narrowed his eyes a bit more as he looked into Ichigo's lighter brown with his own darker ones. He searched for lies, he intently listened to his heart beat if it jumped, it didn't. Ichigo was telling the truth. Then Jacob pulled back and turned away. He took a few steps away and stopped, looking at the ground.

Ichigo looked at Jacob, then took a step away from the earthy cliff, some earth stuck to the back of his shirt but he didn't mind it much. He sighed and spread his arms. "Jacob, come on, man."

Jacob turned his head a bit, just enough to see from the corner of his eye what stance Ichigo took. He then turned to face Ichigo. He eyed him. "What are you trying to do?"

Ichigo sighed and rolled his eyes a bit, then he looked at Jacob. "You know well what I'm trying to do. Let's get this over with, man. Enough."

Jacob eyed him carefully. The Hell was Ichigo thinking? Did he really think that all could be solved with just a hug? Or was he pittying him like a small puppy? How annoying... Who did Ichigo think Jacob was? He's not a puppy, he's a wolf! He doesn't run around panting and wiggling his tail before a master, he kills vampires as easily as he breathes, for God's sake! He growled lowly, he wanted to lunge at Ichigo and injure him, and would've done so if he didn't have enough selfcontrol and rational thought. Really... What was he hoping for? Bella is not going to change her mind and his behavior was just childish. He let out a sigh and walked up to Ichigo, giving him a hesitent hug.

Ichigo smirked and placed his arms around Jacob's back. "There we go."

Jacob then stepped back, pulling away. Ichigo released him from his hug as well.

Ichigo smirked. "Come on, my Yuzu's making a meat pie."

Jacob's stomach growled at the mention of meat pie, or more of the mention of meat. He blushed and looked away in embarrassment.

Ichigo wanted to tease Jacob about his stomach's reaction but decided to not test his chances by provoking the wolf. After all, his goal was to calm Jacob, not anger him any further. They started to leave the forest, chatting on their way.

Leah snarled a bit as she watched from a distance. Ichigo kept on ruining the bonds in the pack, he had to be removed!

From a farther distance but with a more clear view, on a cliff of a mountain not too far away, Demetri stood, observing the scene as well. The wolves, they are causing a problem. They are a barrier between the Volturi and Ichigo that has to be removed, or more it's Jacob than the other wolves. He was sure that the other wolves wanted Ichigo removed. Jacob and Ichigo had to be separated.

* * *

If any of you are getting confused and think this is yaoi, it's not. While there are slight hints of it, it never escalates to actual malexmale. And if it would, I'd warn you.


	19. Chapter 19

There will be a few time skips but they get closer to the clash between the Volturi and the Cullens over Renesmee. There you'll get to see Ichigo's bad-ass spanker side.

Chapter 19

The night sky was filled with wandering clouds which covered the silver light of the pale moon. Ichigo stood in a clearing, panting heavily, the cold air making it hard to breathe. A few meters in front of him lay a dead body of a Hollow. It was slowly evaporating in a form of golden dust which disappeared into the air.

He finally managed to regain his breath. He inhaled and let out a slow sigh. Ichigo stood up straight from the small leaning forward stance he was in earlier. He had Akuma in his hand, the demon blade. He didn't like it much but he had to use it. The Hollow he just slayed was at a stage of turning into an Arancarn. This stage was very hard to handle since at that time Arancarns weren't in control of themselves and always went full force on their opponents. Ichigo didn't like using Akuma due to its dark energy. It was a vicious blade that succumbed to darkness in its grief and years without a master. It's dark energy would be able to bring out the Hollow in Ichigo and that would be extremely dangerous since he hadn't completely recovered and in full control of his own powers. He had still a long way to go to stabilize his condition and to connect with Zangetsu.

Ichigo breathed out "Orochi" and the path to his soul had opened. He brought the tip of Akuma's blade to the spot on his chest where his heart was and pushed the blade in. It felt uneasy as the blade passed from the real world into his soul through him, but once it was completely inside and he pulled his hand out of his chest, the portal close.

He let out another sigh and looked up at the sky. The time was coming soon… The Volturi will soon come for Renesmee. That day might turn out ugly. Judging by what he heard about them, they were not the type to solves things without a fight. He had mixed feelings about the situation. At one point, he was glad that he would be able to meet a new opponent, test out his new abilities, see how strong he was, see what these all-feared Volturi were made of. And at the same time, he knew that a lot of lives, if you could call them lives, were in danger. Both sides would be fighting for what they believe in. The Cullens with their allies for Renesmee and the Volturi to protect their kind's existence. But as far as he knew, it was supposed to be a peaceful discussion in which Rensmee's innocence would be proven,… Supposed to be.

He let out another sigh. Damn, he was sighing again. Maybe even more than on his first day in Forks. He placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket and headed back from the forest and to his house. But he was aware of the pair of eyes watching him throughout this whole time. He pretended to not know anything and simply walked as if unaware. Something lunged at him and he bent back letting it fly past him. It made a flip and landed on the ground, sliding back a bit as it slowed down, using its claws and fingers to help it slow down, leaving claw marks in the cold, moist ground. The pair of red eyes gleamed and their owner smirked, his white, sharp teeth glistening from the little light falling at them from the moon. The vampire rose to stand straight and slowly walked to Ichigo who stood on his spot, frowning a bit with a raised brow.

"Nice moves, Ichigo." The man said before he walked out into the moon light.

"What do you want, Garrett?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm just impressed by your moves. Wanted to see if I would catch you by surprise or not." Garrett grinned.

Ichigo let out a sigh again.

"Guess not, your heart had a special beat to it. You knew I was watching you." Garrett walked closer to Ichigo.

"Is that all?" Ichigo looked at him.

Garrett frowned. "Aw, don't be like that." He then smirked. "Stwabewwy~" Garrett imitated Renesmee. One of the first things she said as an infant was Ichigo's name… In English translation. She said it when Emmett was teasing Ichigo and when she did the room was filled with laughter, but Emmett got quite a beating from Ichigo afterwards.

The corner of Ichigo's left brow twitched in annoyance. His eyes slowly traveled to Garrett and he glared at him from the corners of his eyes.

The vampire jumped and backed away a bit. "Okay, okay! I get it! No more teasing!"

Ichigo's eyes returned to the path ahead of him and he started walking.

"Stwabewwy~" Garrett finished his words with a grin.

Ichigo inhaled sharply through his nose. He spun around and was about to flatten Garrett's face with a punch square in the nose but Garret bent back as he let the fist swing above his head. His grin grew. Ichigo was about to knee him in the crotch but Garrett slapped his knee away with the back of his hand and jumped up making a flip backward, landing on the ground a few meters away from Ichigo.

"Come on, Stwabewwy. Is that all you got?" Garrett grinned. "You can kick new-born ass but can't even land a punch to an old fart like me?"

Ichigo grinned. "Now I've got a nick-name to call you by."

Garrett's grin vanished in realization.

At that moment Ichigo appeared in front of him, using Shunpo, though he didn't reveal what it was to the vampires, only resorting to it from time to time.

Garret had only a mere second to see the grin on Ichigo's face before his nose was crushed with a strong fist. He was sent flying a few meters away and crushed with his back into a tree. He leaned onto the tree for support, one hand holding his slowly healing nose and the other held up to show time-out.

Ichigo smirked.

Garrett panted. "Note to self: don't anger Ginger."

Ichigo's vein on his right temple pulsed in irritation at the new nick-name.

Garrett grinned again.

Ichigo let out an annoyed sigh and turned back, to continue walking.

Garrett's nose healed. He stood up straight and in a blur caught up with Ichigo and now walked at his pace. "Carlisle sent me to get you. He knows you're out at this time of the night killing those monsters."

Ichigo let out another sigh. He made a turn and walked toward the Cullens' house.

Garrett smirked. He walked behind Ichigo. He knew little about the boy from the minor introduction from Carlisle and that was it, but he sure did like the kid. Who was he? Well, apparently not an enemy, or so everyone believed at the moment. And from his own observations he found out Ichigo was a human with 'perks', or special abilities if you will. Humans were not known for having many special abilities. If they did, then on a very weak level. But Bella was one of the few that had it at a strong one and the ability strengthened especially after Bella's transformation. But the boy was a complete mystery. He was growing in power and no one knew if he had a limit.

Ichigo didn't reach the house because he came to a campfire where all the vampires have collected before battle.

"Ichigo." Esmé greeted happily with a smile. She came to him and gave him a hug. "I hope you are not pushing yourself too much with your duties." She said with concern.

Ichigo smiled. "No, everything's fine. Thanks for asking."

Esme smiled again, then she took Ichigo by the arm and led him to sit on a tree trunk at the fire.

Carlisle walked to his wife and Ichigo. He sat down at his wife's side. "Good night, Ichigo."

"Yeah, it's good." Ichigo replied. "So what did you want?"

Carlisle looked at the snow for a bit before answering, then looked at Ichigo again. "Look, Ichigo. It is most likely that everything will turn out into a fight and due to your condition with your powers… We're just saying that you don't have to do this."

Ichigo looked at him.

Carlisle continued. "You've done so much for us, you and your family are very considerate and tolerant. This fight… We don't know to what extent it will go. It will be a great loss to both us and especially your family if you fell in the battle. Your sisters and father need you."

Ichigo inhaled through his nose, then said. "Thank you for the concern. I will give a good thought. But thanks anyway."

Esme' smiled.

Ichigo rose. "I will be going now if you'll excuse me."

"Yes, rest well Ichigo." Carlisle said. He rose as well. The vampires looked at Ichigo's departing form.

The gazes returned to Carlisle. Eleazar asked. "Just to what extent does his power go?"

Carlisle looked at his friend. "Truthfully… I don't know."

Tanya asked next. "Is he truly capable of fighting the Volturi?"

"I think he is capable of defeating them." Carlisle replied.

With that response everyone exchanged looks. Just who was he!?


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Ichigo arrived at his house. He quietly opened and closed the door. He quietly took his shoes off and was about to go up to his room when he noticed his father's form in the door way of his office. He turned to look at Isshin. "Dad?"

"Ichigo, you don't have to worry. Go and rest, I will tell you if the battle starts." Isshin said.

Ichigo's eyes widened a bit. Then he smiled softly. "Thank you." He then went up the stairs.

Once in his room he took his clothing off and changed into his pajamas. He laid down under his covers and let out a sigh. He stared at the wall in front of him for a while, then sighed and closed his eyes, falling asleep.

In his sleep he saw a dream. In it was a battle between two sides: the Volturi and the Cullens with their witnesses against vampires who were all dressed similarly into black and red. Both sides had losses. But at one point, the Volturi were winning, thus the tides were turned by a powerful ground shaking punch which spread the ground separating the two sides. Many of the vampires fell into the crack in the ground, mostly the Volturi, which made their numbers less.

Ichigo sweated and panted in his sleep, but he was unable to wake up. His heart raced, he moaned lowly. He thought his heart would stop when he saw Leah fall into the depths of the crack to the hungry lava bellow. Ichigo's heart jumped every time a werewolf or one of the Cullens or their witnesses got hurt or even died, his heart ached with the desire to jump in and save the righteous and kill the wrong. But he couldn't, he didn't know what was holding him back. His heart raced in its confines, it pounded against the inner walls of his chest and it hurt. Ichigo's breathing became raspy. He wanted to interrupt the battle and kill all of the Volturi with his Getzuga Tensho but he couldn't, something was holding him back.

Then he slowly began to calm, his expression of pain and desperation in his sleep switched to that of confusion. In his sleep he saw... himself?

Black energy shot up into the cloudy sky in the form of a pillar. Surges of it ran fast along the ground, separating the ground as well, running for long miles. And some of it escaped slowly like fog. The energy was darker than the darkness that a blind man saw when he opened his eyes.

After the pillar shot into the sky, the clouds were pushed back by the shock wave from the energy and cleared the sky, letting the sun down upon the vampires. Then all the energy pulled back into the crack in the ground. It formed into something like a skull, a black skull. Usually skulls didn't have expressions, but this one had and a very clear one. The face of skull looked angered, disgusted, blood thirsty, and most of all, evil. And all that was pointed at the dumbfounded Volturi.

Everyone just froze on their spots, from both sides, and simply stared because that was all they could do. If the vampires could breathe, their breath would be stolen. But the werewolves did literally have their breath stolen. The vampires didn't notice but it wasn't just fear and surprise gripping them and keeping them from moving, the wolves were especially sensitive to it... This power in the air...Reiatsu.

The black energy shaped into a skull then appeared to be sucked in into something at the center of it, then it cleared in the form of a shockwave, one that cut off the tops of the trees and scarred the mountains. There, in the bright sun light like in the spot light, stood the savior of the day. The sun made the vampires sparkle, but Ichigo shined in the sun light. If one was to get poetic, they would say he shined brighter than the sun.

There he stood... On air. The long fire-kissed hair floated in the air gracefully as the wind blew. It had a golden shine to it in the sunlight, as if its owner's head was on fire. His marble white skin was whiter than snow with a pearly shine to it (as mentioned when Ichigo just came to school. His skin is just that way and only the supernatural beings can pick up that property). His upper body was completely nude, revealing his masterpiece of a lean build. His lower body had his usual black hakama pants but he didn't have his white socks and sandals, he was barefoot. In his right hand he held his one hell of a butcher knife sword. The sword was white Zangetsu, the top of the blade white and the sharp edge black. The hilt was bandaged up in black smoke which seemed to take on the form of fabric but its tips were made of smoke.

But that was not the only shocking thing about his whole appearance. He looked like he had a full body skeleton tattoo, but in fact they were markings. The vampires were the first to realize that was actually real skin color in the places of the marks. There wasn't a single part of the body uncovered by the skeleton design. From his collar-bone and around his neck as well as from around his wrists emitted something like coral-red smoke, so thick at one point it seemed like fur. His nails grew into black claws on both his hands and feet. On his face was a bone mask of a human skull's face. From the eye sockets of the bone mask ran blood tears. In the darkness of the sockets of the bone mask could be made out blood thirsty eyes. The clear emotion in them was portrayed by the look of determination and the crimson red color of the irises, the rest of the eyes was pure blackness. From the forehead of the mask grew ram horns. They were black with a clear, glassy shine, their tips razor sharp.

Everyone was in fear and shock, while no other than Aro seemed mesmerized. He gazed at this new appearance which interrupted the battle like at a work of art with a dreamy look. Then Aro's eyes widened and he grinned widely. "Marvelous! Work of art! Masterpiece! God has sent us an angel from Heaven! What a blessing!" He looked at him with wide eyes like a child at a new toy in the window of a shop, panting with excitement.

The pressure in the air seemed to lessen, allowing every one to move, and those who needed it, to breathe. Animals and the birds around the area in the forest and the sky dropped dead, they were unable to overcome such crushing pressure.

Caius and Marcus gave a wide-eyed, almost scared look at Aro, then their eyes returned to Ichigo who stood still in the air. Some of the Volturi seemed to back away a bit.

Aro, the mad one, seemed to be over excited. He took a few steps forward to the crack in the ground and Ichigo above it, his hands extended forward. "I beg you, oh Angel, come with us!"

Ichigo stayed silent. Then he raised his sword into the air, the shine of the sunlight on it traveled up from the hilt to the tip as it was raised.

Aro's smile seemed to slowly vanish as he realized the silent yet obvious answer.

Then Ichigo swished his sword down, a crescent-shaped surge of black energy erased the vampires in front of him before anyone could even think that it was better to run.

* * *

Ichigo jolted up, eyes wide, panting heavily, cold sweat covering his body. His eyes ran around the room. He breathed like that for a while, then he brought his left knee to his chest. He rested his hands on his knee and scraped his left hand's thumb tip with his teeth as his eyes slowly wandered from side to side around his room as he processed the dream through his mind. He let out a sigh. Outside was already morning, the birds were perched on the tree branches and chirping. He got off his bed and went to his bathroom to wash. Little did he know that because of his excitement and worry for the upcoming battle, which actually didn't take place, had caused him to see the vision that Alice showed to Aro.

* * *

Now both sides: the Cullens with their company and the Volturi, were departing from what would be the battle field.

After the vision, Aro and his two 'brothers' were sure of several things after Aro told them. One, Renesmee was no longer the center of their attention. Two, the Cullens as always endangered the existence of the vampires. Three, they had all their eyes and attention on this Angel from Heaven with fire-kissed hair by the name 'Strawberry', or as Demetri translated from Japanese to English after stalking Ichigo a few times and finding out his name. And four, they had to come up with a plan and means in order to obtain Ichigo. And currently, they were processing ideas through their corrupted, rotten minds as they departed for Volterra.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Alice told her vision to her family, but not the witnesses and the wolves, only Jacob. Everyone's cuation toward Ichigo grew. Emmett lost whatever spec of trust he had for Ichigo. Someone of such power and who they didn't know much about could not be trusted.

* * *

Marcus, Aro, and Caius sent Demetri to spy on Ichigo and find out more about him. While he did that, the three were scheming on how they will handle Ichigo. They could use Corin's gift to make him comfortable with being with the Volturi but then again, they didn't know if it would work.

* * *

Ichigo sat back in his chair, his head leaned back and staring at the ceiling. He wondered if what he dreamed about really happened or was it just emotions creating a dream? He didn't know. He sighed and closed his eyes. Then he stood up, deciding to go and check on the Cullens. His father told him he'll wake him if the fight happened, but was he really planning on that or was his father just making him avoid the encounter with the Volturi?

He dressed into a pair of black jeans shorts, navy blue moccasins, and his dark blue button t-shirt with rolled up sleeves and crisscrossing black stripes. He went down the stairs. Yuzu was washing the floor in the dining room.

"Ichi-nii? Where are you going?" Yuzu asked.

"For a walk." Ichigo replied.

"Be back by lunch, I made curry." Yuzu said.

"Alright." Ichigo replied. With that he closed the door behind himself. He went to his car and sat in it. Then he drove off.

* * *

The Cullens and Jacob heard a car pull up near their house. Alice went to a window and looked out. "It's Ichigo."

Everyone exchanged wary looks.

As Ichigo parked his car in front of the house and came out, Carlisle followed by Edward and Esmé came out. He smiled. "Ichigo. It's a pleasure to see you."

Ichigo gave a nod. "Yeah." He came up the stepped toward Carlisle. "How did it go?"

"Come inside, we have to talk." Carlisle said as he walked back in.

Ichigo had a feeling that whatever it was, it somehow had to do with his dream. When he came in, he noticed the intent and wary looks on him which made him a bit uncomfortable.

"Please," Carlisle motioned to a chair. "Take a seat."

Ichigo looked at him, but did as he was told. Everyone watched him. Carlisle stood in the middle of the room and started talking. "The battle did not happen but it would have. Alice had foreseen it and left with Jasper to find their own witnesses. A man, who is like Renesmee, and his aunt. She showed the vision and its result to Aro, in which the Volturi fell. But... The reason they fell... Was your appearance."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "What?"

Everyone looked at his shocked expression.

Ichigo looked down at his knees. "So it actually happened..."

Everyone exchanged looks again, then looked at him.

Alice asked. "Do you mean... You saw my vision?"

Ichigo looked at her. "I saw both sides engage in a battle, then Benjamin punch the ground and made a crack in it. And then I appeared and released some energy from my sword... And that's when I awoke."

There was a slight pause and another exchange of looks. Ichigo looked up at everyone. Edward spoke. "I can guess that over excitement led you to see Alice's vision in your sleep when she showed it to Aro."

Ichigo looked down and to the side. "So that creepy guy was Aro."

"He's the main leader of the three heads of the coven." Jasper explained.

"And the other two?" Ichigo asked.

"The blonde scowly face is Caius. He's merciless and sadistic." Emmett explained. "The tall, skinny, and depressed is Marcus. He rarely talks and doesn't care much about what's going on."

"Aro seemed fascinated with me...Why?" Ichigo asked.

"He probably sees high potential in you and wants to get you." Rosalie answered.

Jacob snorted. "Like that's ever gonna happen."

"He will use any means necessary." Edward said.

"Then I will wipe him out." Ichigo said with determination in his voice.

"Easier said then done." Edward said. "Killing one of the Volturi leaders will make them angry and they will come for revenge. Killing all of the Volturi is endangering order in the vampire society."

"And joining them is still the same danger." Ichigo said.

"Yes." Edward agreed.

"Then what can be done?" Ichigo asked.

"Become part of our coven." Jasper suggested.

"He already is." Carlisle said, looking at Jasper, then at Ichigo.

Ichigo looked a bit surprised.

"If you don't mind that." Carlisle said.

"No," Ichigo smirked. "I don't."


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The tension in the little town, Forks, lessened a bit after the Volturi left. For a moment, everything returned back to normal. Ichigo had applied and was accepted into a college and studied to be a sports coach. He didn't really have anything in mind for a job so his father suggested he'd do something he was good at. He was good at sports, so he decided to go with coaching. Plus, he liked to be bossy. But of course he mentioned straight away that he was bad with little kids thus he was going to be a coach of university or college teams or big sports leagues. It was hard at first because he was used to one-on-one combats and his strategy didn't work as group work but that could be changed. His teachers were already praising his high level performance and even said if he kept up the good work he'll be able to coach famous teams.

He often visited Renesmee and her family for various reasons, but they were on good terms. Once, Carlisle decided to throw a family picnic. The spot was near a clear and fast flowing river. It was a pretty spot: the ground was mossy so the ladies could enjoy walking around barefoot. There was a clearing with flowers nearby and Renesmee would surely have a big bouquet by the end of the day because of how much she loved flowers. The water was also clear and warm enough for the humans, the Kurosakis, to take a swim. The pine trees only added more to the beauty of the spot. Jacob was invited too, and he agreed only because of Renesmee.

Ichigo carried things out of his house and helped his father pack them into his father's car.

Yuzu and Karin were in the kitchen going through the list of needed things one last time before they left.

"The grill, meat, wood, matches, plastic plates, cups, knives, forks, regular knives, vegetables, swimming suits, napkins, towels, juice, soda, water, ketchup, " and so on. Yuzu finally got to the bottom of the list.

"Yeah, we have everything." Karin said.

Yuzu smiled. "Then we're ready to go!" The girls grabbed a few bags and went out of the house. They put them in the trunk of their father's car and sat on the back seats. Ichigo checked the lights, gas, and water inside the house, then locked the door and went to take his seat on the front passenger seat in the car. Then they drove off.

* * *

They arrived in half an hour to the spot where the picnic would take place. The two sisters took a moment to admire the beauty. The Cullens and Jacob were already there.

"Sorry for the wait." Isshin apologized with a smile as he was met by Carlisle.

"It is nothing, my friend." Carlisle replied. They shook hands.

While Carlisle and Isshin talked, Ichigo unpacked the trunk. Jacob walked over to help him.

"How's college?" Jacob asked.

"So far so good." Ichigo replied.

Yuzu and Karin picked the perfect spot for them and Yuzu shouted to Ichigo with a wave. Ichigo gave her a nod, then carried the things over to the picked spot with Jacob's help.

Emmett brought several big logs on the picked spot for the Kurosakis to sit on. Yuzu thanked him with a smile and he just returned it with a nod. Ichigo was setting up the grill with Jacob while Yuzu and Karin were covering the logs with blankets and laid one blanket on the mossy ground. Then the girls started unpacking the food and setting it out on the blanket. Ichigo was getting the grill ready to make the steaks when Isshin walked up.

"You kids go goof off, I will make the steaks." Isshin said.

"Dad, the last time you made steaks, you burned it to ash." Karin said boldly.

That made Isshin's left bottom eye lid twitch. "Well… That was several years ago. I've improved."

"I think you just lost your touch even more over the years." Karin said again.

Renesmee hopped up to the two girls and said with a smile. "Would you like to go and collect flowers with me?"

Karin and Yuzu looked at each other, then smiled. "Sure."

Renesmee's smile grew. Then the three girls went off to the small clearing just behind a few trees where they still could be seen. Ichigo looked at them as they walked off.

Isshin said to Ichigo. "Go son, relax a bit."

Ichigo smirked. "Thank you." Then walked off. He and Jacob decided to take a swim in the river. Alice and Rosalie were already laying down on a blanket in their swimming suits in the shade of the tall pine trees. Bella sat in a chair watching over her daughter and the two other girls as they ran around the flowery meadow, laughing and giggling. Esmé walked up to her and took a seat in a chair beside Bella's, which was Edward's.

"It seems so good to interact with humans so freely." Bella said.

"It's good that there are people like you out there." Esmé agreed.

Bella looked at her. "Do you think that someday we won't have to hide?"

Esmé shrugged. "Truthfully, I don't know. But I hope there will be."

Bella returned her gaze to the three girls. "The Volturi won't just sit still and let us live peacefully. They have another reason to try and kill us, Ichigo and his family."

"Do you regret that Ichigo knows about us?" Esmé asked.

"No, absolutely not. He's a great guy and his family is nice too. I just can't relax knowing that the Volturi will always find a way to try and get us killed and they will keep on trying until either of us goes down." Bella said.

Esmé put a hand on Bella's, making Bella look at her. "It's going to be all right, sweetie. Nothing is eternal, neither are the Volturi."

"And the Kurosakis as well…" Bella returned her eyes to the three girls who were now collecting flowers.

"Bella, have you noticed that Ichigo hasn't aged a single bit since he came here? He's going to be 20 soon and he still looks like he's seventeen." Esmé said. "His heart hasn't aged a bit either."

"What are you suggesting?" Bella asked.

"I think there is something in him that doesn't want him to change." Esmé said.

"So what… he's immortal?" Bella asked.

"He may as well be." Esmé replied.

"What about his father and sisters?" Bella asked again.

"They are different… They age." Esmé said.

Bella looked down. "So they're not the same… It's going to be painful for Ichigo when he watches them go."

Esmé smiled a bit sympathetically. "We all feel the same way about everyone dear to us. We just have to be understanding and support each other."

Bella nodded in response. She knew she'd have to accept her parents' deaths one day when the time came.

Renesmee ran up to Bella with a flower crown. "Mommy, I made this for you." She held forward the crown.

Bella smiled. "Thank you, sweetie." She leaned her head down so that Renesmee could place the crown on her head. When the flower crown was on, she looked up and smiled. She captured Renesmee in her arms and devoured her cheeks with kisses, making the little girl giggle.

Yuzu and Karin walked to their spot, they too had flower crowns on their heads. They placed their bouquets on the blanket carefully and looked at the river where her brother and his friend where goofing off.

Ichigo and Jacob swam around, sometimes splashed water at each other, pulled one another under the water, and chased each other around.

Yuzu giggled when she saw as Ichigo was pulled under the water by Jacob who dove in and pulled Ichigo's ankle. Then Ichigo chased after Jacob and when finally got him, he started pushing him under again, only for Jacob to throw him off by standing up.

Edward, Jasper, and Emmett returned from the woods. They caught some elk and rabbits for their family. It had become normal and comfortable to feed on blood in the presence of their human friends and the Kurosakis didn't mind that either. Still the vampires were more mannered in the presence of the humans and drained the animals of their blood into wine bottles and drank the blood from wine glasses. Almost like those noble vampires from fiction books and movies.

Once the food was prepared, for some regular food and for others blood, everyone collected around a table that the Cullens had brought with them.

"To our friendship and wellbeing." Carlisle spoke the toast. Everyone raised their glass, or plastic cup, and then drank. Then they started eating, or at least the humans and the werewolf.

* * *

Demetri was a safe distance from Edward to be unnoticed while being able to see everything clearly from a mountain not too far away. It seemed like the humans and the monsters grew even closer, being comfortable and relaxed with each other even more. Jacob though was still tense around the Cullens from his natural instincts against the vampires but a little more relaxed because of Renesmee and the humans with the whole monster group.

The day passed well. It was full of cheerful and warm conversations, playing sports like volleyball or badminton or simply goofing around, tasty food, and the great weather and nature. Now at sunset, the families were packing their things into their cars and readying to leave when Edward noticed the unwanted presence. His head shot toward the direction Demetri was in, Demetri got too close and now he spat curses as he saw Edward look straight at him.

"What is it?" Bella asked Edward with concern.

Edward kept on staring intently at Demetri who then turned and ran off to the sea. "Demetri." Edward replied.

"What?" Bella was shocked, angered, and afraid. She was ready to run after Demetri but Edward stopped her. She looked at him.

Edward looked her in the eyes. "Not now, Bella."

She looked at him for a bit, then stepped back and went to get Renesmee and sit with her in the car on the back seat.

"Is everything okay?" Alice asked.

"I'll tell later." Edward replied to Alice, then went to sit in the driver's seat. Once everyone was ready, they all drove off in their cars.

The Kurosakis went straight to their home. Edward told Jacob to stick around for a conversation.

* * *

At the Cullens' house:

"I read his thoughts. They are stalking Ichigo to find out as much as they can about him and are ready to use any means necessary to have him." Edward explained.

"Either they are idiots 'cause they don't know Ichigo will never join them, or as we know well, they are smart and will do something which will keep him with them." Emmett said.

"The plan on using Corin." Edward said.

"What?" Everyone exclaimed. They exchanged shocked looks.

"Can someone tell me who or what this Corin is?" Jacob asked.

"Corin's gift makes people comfortable with their situations." Carlisle explained.

"Oh… Well that's trouble." Jacob said. "But won't that thing inside Ichigo be able to make him invincible to the gift? I mean, Edward can't read Ichigo's thoughts, so why would that gift work on him?"

"We don't know for sure. And knowing the Volturi, they probably have more up their sleeve." Jasper said.

"We need to tell Ichigo." Alice said.

"We can't, not now." Edward said.

"Edward, human lives are at stake, our precious human friends' lives are in danger." Rosalie said.

"Well aren't you a fan of them now, precious human friends?" Emmett teased, to which he received an elbow to the ribs from Rosalie. "Okay… Sorry."

"Why not now?" Bella asked.

"Because if the Volturi find out that Ichigo and his family are aware, they might get more cautious and we don't know what to expect from them then. Or they might get down straight to business." Edward said.

"No, they are not that rash." Carlisle said. "But we do have to be careful and we do have to protect Ichigo and his family."

"I think it's more his father and sisters. He can fight a vampire easily." Jasper said.

"Then it's decided. We keep an eye on them." Carlisle said. With that, it was decided that they would watch over the Kurosakis and watch out for the Volturi.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Ichigo walked out of his college and went to the parking lot to his car. He froze on the spot when all of a sudden, a familiar face jumped in front of him, making him stop.

"Hey, Ichigo." Emma said cheerfully with a smile.

"Oh... Emma... Hey." Ichigo greeted with hesitation. "What are you... doing here?"

"Oh, I just couldn't get into any other college and since I'm good at tennis, I decided I'll be a tennis coach. We meet again, isn't that nice?" Emma's smile grew bit.

"Ah, yeah... I see." Ichigo didn't seem to be too excited to see her.

Emma knew by the tone of his voice and expression that he wasn't looking forward to meeting her at all, but she decided to not give any signs of knowing. She let out a sigh. "But, I'm nowhere past middle school level of teaching and I need to be at least at highschool level to stay in this college."

"I see." Ichigo said.

She looked up at him, smiling again. "So I thought if maybe you could show me some moves, it'd be great. You're good at tennis, right?"

"I, well... I'm not bad." Ichigo looked at the time on his phone. Then at her. "Listen, I have to go pick my two sisters up. Let's talk later." Then he went past her to his car.

Emma turned as he walked past her. "Bye." She said before he was too far away to hear. She stood there, watching him as he got into his car and then drove off. Her best friend, Hillary walked up to her.

"You know he's not going to get with you, right?" Hillary more pointed it out than asked.

"Right now he won't, but I'll make him want me." Emma said with determination.

Hillary just rolled her eyes. "You're clearly not his type!"

Emma looked at her. "And are you?"

"No, that's not what I mean." Hillary said.

"Then be quiet and help me win him!" Emma said, she looked at Hillary for a few more seconds and then walked off to her own car.

Hillary watched her walk for a few moments before sighing and shaking her head, and following after Emma. The two girls got into Emma's car and then drove off.

* * *

Ichigo waited a few minutes in front of Karin's and Yuzu's school. Then he saw the two girls come out. Karin was with her boyfriend but the three were walking and talking cheerfully and laughing. Then they stopped, Karin gave Jackson, her boyfriend, a kiss on the cheek and then went with Yuzu to Ichigo's car. Jackson watched the two girls walk off and get into the car, then drive off. He then turned and went down the street to his house which was two blocks away from the school.

"Is he nice? Treating you right?" Ichigo asked Karin while keeping his eyes on the road.

Karin rolled her eyes with a sigh, then smirked softly. "He's the best, Ichi-nii."

"Good, but don't let him by the best out of all others to come." Ichigo said a he made the turn to the street on which their house was.

"Alright, Ichi-nii. I'll make sure." Karin said with another sigh.

Ichigo parked his car in front of their house. He got out along with his sisters, then he locked the car and went with Karin and Yuzu into the house.

He went up to his room and after closing the door, dropped his bag on the floor and plopped on the bed on his front. He lay still for a bit, then turned on his side and curled up, falling asleep.

* * *

He woke up at 7 p.m., the sun had almost set. He let out a sigh and got off the bed. After a nice, hot shower, he walked back into his room and turned on his computer. He checked his e-mail to see if any of this friends from Japan wrote anything, none so far... Actually... Nothing in whole two weeks. He let out a sigh. It was so boring. He almost fell asleep from boredom on his lectures, he had finished all of his work in classes and breaks, leaving all his textbooks and notebooks in his locker, and now no one was writing anything to him.

He sat back in his chair and leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling and wondering what he could do. He closed his eyes and sighed. He heard from Bella a few days ago there were some good tv series to watch. Now he was struggling to remember what they were. One of them... Supernatural, aha! He sat up and got onto his computer again. He searched it up, and seeing that it had many seasons, which meant it was good if there were so many fans of it for it to have so many seasons, he decided to give it a try.

First episode...boredom. "Ugh!" He leaned back in his chair again. But the ending of it promised something interesting in the future. He sat with his eyes closed for a bit, then sat up straight and got to the next one. Okay, episode 2 was less boring. But he was no longer in the mood to watch anything. So he decided to go for an evening jog.

He put on his basketball shorts, t-shirt, sneakers shoes, hoodie, took his phone and headphones, and went out. He put his headphones on and started his playlist, put his phone in his hoodie's pocket, and jogged off.

* * *

Emma and Hillary sat in a café near the window, talking over all them random girl things and the conversation always returned to Ichigo, mainly by Emma. She jumped up and gasped when she saw him run by. But he was too busy on running and listening to music to notice her. She looked at Hillary. "Oh my God...!" She breathed out.

Hillary gave her a 'really?' look, then rolled her eyes and shook her head with a sigh.

"What? He's the hottest guy in highschool! He has more popularity than Edward Cullen!" Emma said.

"Duh, dummy. 'Cause he's social. If he wasn't social he and Edward would be on the same level." Hillary said.

"Oh come on, he's like one of those guys who companies have to beg to be in their commercials!"

"And he always rejects them."

"Yes!"

"Emma? What happened between you and Jack? You two used to be the couple with the strongest relationship throughout all of middle school and highschool."

"Used to be. Things change."

"What makes you think you'll be successful?"

"I will find out what kinds of girls are his type and become his type."

"What if he's gay?"

Emma gasped. "No!"

"The last time I checked, there isn't a single man in this world any more who is completely straight."

"No, it can't be!"

"Emma, you saw how Jasper looks at him."

"So what?"

"He looks at him like a hungry lion at a zebra's ass!"

"You have no proof!"

"He hangs out with the Cullens and doesn't seem to have much distance between himself and Jasper."

"So he's cheating on Alice?"

"Well do you know if Jasper or Ichigo is bisexual or not? I mean, they could fuck behind Alice's back!"

Emma dropped her forehead on the table with a bang. "Ugh!"

"Face it girl, you have no chance."

"No, no, no!" Emma banged her fists on the table rather loudly. "I refuse to accept that! I refuse!"

Everyone turned to look at the source of the noise. Hillary flinched, seeing all the stares and smacked Emma a bit on the back of her head. "Stop! Eveyone's looking!" She hissed.

Emma stopped. Everyone stared for a few more moments and then turned away again. Emma looked up. "I still have to try!"

"You can try, but look at the situation. When one dumps the other, you don't know who's gaining and who's losing."

"Jack and I are just not getting anywhere. It's not interesting with him anymore. And then he appeared." The last words refered to Ichigo as Emma said it with a dreamy look and voice.

"Emma, you just fell for his looks, just like any other girl of the 90% of the girls in our highschool."

"But there was some chemistry!"

"Chemistry was only in your hormones, not in his. I mean, he hasn't looked at you ass even once! Even accidentally!"

Emma beamed. "Maybe he's just trying too hard not to 'cause he knows if he will, he'll lose control!"

Hillary gave her a look again.

"I asked him to help me with tennis, he didn't say no, just to talk to him later, but maybe he will look at my ass and we'll go straight from acquaintances to couple?"

"Emma... He clearly used an excuse to get rid of you there. And even if you two some how by some magical miracle get to bed, it will either be him having his head hit to hard by your tennis ball or all you'll ever be to him is a one-night stand."

Emma frowned. "You're a bitch!"

"And you're hopeless."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Emma? Really? You haven't noticed AT ALL the chemistry going on between him and that... Jacob was his name? Anyway, the native American kid who's friends with Bella. Those two are practically all over each other with their eyes."

Emma frowned again, clearly not believing still.

"I was on a jog the other day and I saw Ichigo and that guy together in a river."

"So what? Maybe they took a swim."

"Yeah, but they were clearly goofing off!"

"So what? Guys do that. Don't they?"

"Emma, not with that kind of happiness the two had on their faces."

"Wait...were they alone?"

"No, it seemed like a picnic between the Cullens and the Kurosakis."

"OMG! Was it an orgy!?" Emma got all dreamy. "Oh dear! I can already see it! Ichigo on his throne atop a mountain of love-making men and women and I am his queen and his *ahem* gets up only for me!"

"Girl... The nut-house is missing you with GREAT passion...!" Hillary said as if stating a fact.

The rest of the evening went by between the two girls in the unending argument over Ichigo. While Ichigo had already run a few laps around the block and had returned home. When he came into the house, he froze for a bit. There was Jacob. Jacob was talking with Isshin in the living room. When Ichigo came in, the two looked at him, Jacob rose a hand in greeting.

"Ah, hey...what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked as he slowly came to his father and his friend.

"Jacob will be staying with us for a while, Ichigo. It's a serious reason and he has my permission." Isshin explained.

"I see..." Ichigo said. "Well..."

"Don't worry, I can sleep on the floor." Jaco assured.

"Oh no, no, no. We're not having that. You will be sleeping in one of the guest rooms on the second floor." Isshin insisted.

Jacob, blinked, then smirked. "Thank you, Mr. Kurosaki."

"No prob, kid. Feel at home." Isshin said. "Ichigo will show you to your room."

Ichigo gave a nod, then motioned Jacob to follow. Jacob gave a nod to Isshin, then followed Ichigo upstairs to the spare room they had which was the guest room. Ichigo opened the door and let Jacob inside. "Well, as dad said, feel at home."

"Thanks again." Jacob said. He looked around. "It's nice." Indeed it was.

"So what's so important that you have to live with us?" Ichigo asked as he leaned in the doorway.

Jacob motioned for him to come it, making it obvious the reason was serious and the explanation was long. He pulled up a chair and sat in it, Ichigo closed the door and leaned against the wall.

Jacob told Ichigo everything: about the Volturi and their intentions and how the Cullens and the Wolves are not watching over him and watching out for the Volturi. Ichigo was now worried, he had to be more careful now and always on guard. Now it was even more reason that Karin and Yuzu would be dropped off and picked up for school and that their schedule is controlled when it comes to going outside.

The situation was explained to the two girls in a more simple but understandable way. Since they knew all the stuff Ichigo went through, they believed and agreed without arguments.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Ichigo sat on his chair with his feet up on his desk, his headphones on his head booming dubstep into his ears, a naruto manga in his hands. A knock came on the door, he paused his music and took his headphones off. "Yeah?"

Karin opened the door a half and stuck her head in. "Lunch is ready. After that, Yuzu and I need you to accompany us to the mall for shopping, then we need to drive to the hospital and get dad some medicine."

"Okay, but shouldn't it be dad first and mall later?" Ichigo asked.

"He doesn't need it until 8 p.m. and it's only 3." Karin said.

"Okay. I'll be right down." Ichigo said.

Karin closed the door and went back down to the first floor. Jacob was in the back yard practicing some moves. The yard was rather large so he had enough room for his human form, but not his wolf form, and there were other obvious reasons why he couldn't wolf out.

Ichigo opened the window from the living room and shouted to Jacob. "Come on in, man. Lunch is ready."

Jacob stopped and took a moment to catch his breath, then exhaled. "Alright."

Ichigo then closed the window and went to the dining room. Several moments later, Jacob came in. He stopped in the door way and took a moment to inhale the great scent of freshly made sushi. He licked his lips with a smirk and closed the door behind himself, then went first to wash his hands and face, and then to the dining room. He plopped down on his seat in front of Ichigo, Karin at his side and Yuzu near Ichigo in front of Karin.

"Help yourselves." Yuzu said with a smile.

Everyone did as they were told. They had a vegetable salad to lighten the taste of fish in the sushi and the soy sauce and a cheese cake with green jasmine tea for dessert.

* * *

After having eaten, Yuzu and Karin neatly piled the dishes up in the sink, then went to quickly change. Jacob and Ichigo too, went up stairs to their rooms to change. Ichigo put on a pair of dark grey jeans, a black leather belt, black high tops, and a plaid button shirt with the colors of red, brown, and blue. He rolled up his sleeves, put his phone in his pocket, his headphones around his neck and went out. Jacob put on a pair of jeans shorts, dark brown moccasins, and a coffee brown t-shirt. Karin put on a pair of jeans shorts to the knees, black sandals with black leather laces which tied around her ankles, a white t-shirt, and a jeans vest. Yuzu put on a pair of dark coral pink shorts, a white blouse, and light brown sandals with their leather laces tied up to her knees.

Once everyone was ready, they took a seat in Ichigo's car. The two girls in the back seat and the guys in the front. Then they drove off.

* * *

Ichigo had parked his car in the parking lot, now the four of them stood at the entrance. Yuzu read through the list. "We need to get some groceries, then we need to go to the music shop, then to the school supplies, the pharmacy, and then to dad to get him the medicine he asked for."

"Do we have money for all of that?" Ichigo asked.

"Dad gave us extra just in case." Karin answered.

"Ok." Ichigo said with a shrug. Then the group headed to the first stop on their list. After having gotten the groceries they needed, they headed to the music shop. There, Karin and Yuzu looked for the albums of their favorite bands. Ichigo looked at a few as well.

"What'cha lookin' for? Maybe I can help?" The shopkeeper, a middle-aged black lady who had quite a few burgers (no offense to such people, just describing the character) called from the counter.

Yuzu came up to her. "Um... Excuse me... Do you have any albums from Lindsey Stirling?"

"Right at the end of that aisle, hun." The woman showed with her hand.

"Thank you." Yuzu thanked with a smile and headed there.

Karin picked out some rock music while Ichigo just grabbed one album from One Foot Krutch.

After having paid for the CDs, the group headed out to the school supplies where Karin needed to buy a few notebooks and Yuzu decided she needed several pencils and an eraser. After that, they headed to the pharmacy and bought the medicine which was written on the list. It ended up being a whole box containing 40 smaller boxes with the medicine, which Ichigo had to carry. Then they went back to the car, got in and drove off to Isshin.

* * *

Ichigo dropped the medicine off at the front desk saying it was for his dad. When he turned to leave he almost ran into Carlile. "Oh! Sorry..."

Carlisle smiled. "No need, I should be apologizing for startling you."

"How's the fam?" Ichigo asked.

"Oh, all is fine. We're patrolling the town together with the wolves, but overall, everything is good." Carlisle replied.

Ichigo smiled. "Good. Well I got to go. Tell my dad I came by and dropped off the medicine he ordered."

"Sure, take care." Carlisle said with a nod.

* * *

Ichigo came out of the hospital. He sat back in the car and drove off with the others to his house.

They waited on the stop light, when it turned green Ichigo started to drive but all of a sudden a something black flashed by. Ichigo's heart stopped for a moment and the car was frozen on the spot. A car behind Ichigo's almost crashed into them. The driver swore, but then noticed there was a problem. Smoke went from the front. Ichigo and Jacob got out of the car to get a better look... The engine was literally torn out.

"My car..." Ichigo breathed out in panic, his eyes running from side to side. "My car!" He ran his fingers through his hair and his knees were about to give in.

Jacob appeared at his side, supporting Ichigo. "Hey, Ichigo. Calm down."

"Fucking bitch!" Ichigo cursed.

Yuzu and Karin got out of the car. "What happe-... Oh God..." Yuzu breathed.

The people having seen this quickly called the police which soon arrived because the station was a few blocks away. Ichigo said everything as it was, then he and his sisters, and Jacob were taken to the station and the car for checking. The group was questioned and Isshin received a call. He then came by the station and drove his kids and Jacob to their house.

* * *

Ichigo paced back and forth in panic in the living room. Jacob stood near a window, looking out as he pondered. Karin tried to calm Yuzu who was crying from worry.

"They've started to act..." Jacob thought out loud. Before anyone could say anything the door bell rang. Everyone exchanged looks. "I'll go get it." Jacob said and walked to the door. He opened the door and there was a package. He picked it up, smelled it and his eyes widened. He looked out of the house carefully, then closed the door and went back into the living room.

"What is it?" Ichigo asked impatiently.

Jacob placed the package on the short table in front of the couch on which Yuzu and Karin sat and opened it. Inside was Ichigo's car's missing engine. A large, rough V was carved into it with what seemed like a claw judging by the roughness.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Ichigo yelled and stormed off to his room.

Yuzu broke out in more tears and Karin tried to calm her once more. Jacob narrowed his eyes. No... It wasn't the Volturi. They would never act this way, they are more careful about appearing before humans, plus, it was sunny outside. And that smell... It couldn't be any other... Jacob let out a growl-like huff. The fuck where they doing here? No one invited them... Leah!


	25. Chapter 25

For those of you who are wondering who are Emma, Hillary, Jack, and Rachel, they are OCs. There will be a few more.

Emma and Jack used to have a relationship but they began to break up and then Ichigo came to the school and Emma used his coming to the school as a good chance to break away from Jack completely.

Rachel is Jack's close friend and Emma once thought Jack was cheating on her with Rachel.

Hillary is Emma's best friend, she is skeptical in terms of Emma getting into a relationship with Ichigo and supports Emma's relationship with Jack and wants them to get back together.

Chapter 25

Jacob knew who the attacker was. It wasn't a vampire for sure because it was sunny that day and there were too many people around. Also, they weren't as fast as a vampire: fast enough to not be spotted by a human eye but not fast enough for a vampire. And the V that was carved into the engine of Ichigo's car and was delivered to his house's doorstep in a box, the carving was too messy for a vampire's claw or a blade of any sort. He had his doubts but he couldn't exclude the possibility. It must've been another werewolf pack which rivaled his. They were merciless killers and were strict even to their own women and children. They were very serious toward tradition and thus behaved like during the tribal times before the white men came to America. Their appearance and the show they put up was no good news. And he suspected Leah was behind all of this. She didn't like Ichigo from the very beginning and he knew she once had relations with that rivaling wolf pack. She must've told them about Ichigo, Bella, the Volturi, and everything.

_Damn it!_ Jacob mentally cursed. He clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles whitened. But he couldn't confront Leah yet, he had to make sure.

* * *

Yuzu and Karin walked down the street to the hospital, brining Isshin's forgotten lunchbox which he left in the fridge again. The work lately was stressful because of so many patients arriving every day. Lately, there have been many animal attacks, or so the police said. So many surgeries had to be done, 4 people even died already from bleeding... in 3 days.

The two girls were completely unsuspecting and walked casually, talking cheerfully. Casually behind them walked a teenager in his mid-teens. He looked completely normal, but when the two girls ahead were nearing an alley, his dark brown eyes had a dark red glow run through them. When the moment was right, he vanished into thin air as well as Yuzu and Karin.

* * *

Ichigo jogged through the forest, listening to the music in his headphones when a hand grabbed his shoulder. He spun around and was about to land a punch but stopped in time. "Emma?"

Emma raised her hands in the air with her palms up and backed away. "Wow, Ichigo, no need to get violent."

"Well it's not every day when you get grabbed by the shoulder while jogging through the forest."

"Yeah, sorry." Emma smiled apologetically. "I was just jogging as well and then I saw you, but you didn't hear my shouts so I grabbed your shoulder."

"Are you stalking me?" Ichigo asked.

"No! Why would you think that?" Emma defended herself.

"Just asking."

"Oh yes, Ichigo. I am totally stalking you! Like that's my new hobby!" Emma spoke sarcastically with an eye roll and a soft chuckle.

"Uh-huh..." Ichigo said with a raised brow. "Whatever." He turned and started jogging again.

"Wait, Ichigo!" Emma jogged after him.

"What?" Ichigo asked with slight annoyance present in the voice.

"I just thought we could jog together." Emma said with a slight smile.

"If you can keep up with me." Ichigo said.

"Oh, I'm a good runner." Emma said with a wiggle of her brows.

"Alright." And then Ichigo vanished into thin air using Shunpo. The leaves on the ground rose into the air on the spot he once stood.

Emma stopped and looked around with confusion. "What the...?" She looked around; he wasn't anywhere to be seen. She felt uneasy, almost spooked. She shivered and decided to go back the way she came from.

Ichigo stood high up on a branch of a tree nearby Emma. He smirked as he saw her confusion and fear. He let out a sigh of relief when she ran off. When she was out of sight, he jumped down, landing easily on his feet, and continued his jog. A pair of electric blue eyes watched the redhead intently without blinking. There he was, the boy who disturbed whatever was left of peace and order between the Wolves and the Vampires that existed in Forks after Bella did her own work.

* * *

After walking out of the shower, Ichigo's phone rang. It was Isshin. Ichigo answered it. "Yeah?"

"Are Karin and Yuzu home?" Isshin asked.

"No," Ichigo all of a sudden felt worry rise in him. "Why?"

"They were supposed to bring me my lunch that I forgot once again. They told me they'd be at the hospital in 5 minutes, but that was an hour ago." Isshin said.

"Oh God..." Ichigo breathed. His heart pounded with worry in his chest.

"Ichigo?" Isshin was getting even more worried now.

"Something must've happened... I'm going to go search for them!" Ichigo said.

"I'll tell Carlisle! Call me when you find anything." Isshin said.

Ichigo hung up. He tossed his phone on the desk. He dried quickly, then put some clothing on, grabbed his sword, and ran out of the house.

Charlie went to look out of the window from the loud bang of the front door from the house next door. He saw Ichigo dash down the side walk so he hurried out himself. "Hey, Ichigo!" He shouted, but Ichigo was too far and focused on finding his sisters to hear the shout. Then he turned around the corner and out of sight. Charlie sighed. He then dialed Isshin. "Hey, I saw Ichigo leave house rapidly, is everything okay?"

"There are a few complications... I will tell you if help will be needed." Isshin said with slight hesitation. Extra eyes would be good, but these were regular humans.

"Alright. Are the girls okay?" Charlie said.

"They are fine." Isshin said.

"Alright, if you need anything, tell me." Charlie said.

"Of course." Then Isshin hung up.

Charlie stood there for a moment, thinking. Something was not right. But he won't push it. He went back inside the house and proceeded with his paper work.

* * *

Ichigo ran through the streets, shouting his sisters' names without a care of the stares from people around. His eyes darted around in panic, searching for what he couldn't find. His breathing was fast and uneven. A hard grip on his shoulder broke him out of his trance. He spun around to see Emmett.

"E-Emmett? Wh-what are you doing here?" He asked shakily.

"Carlisle called. Said your sisters are gone somewhere and you need help searching for them." Emmett explained.

Ichigo gave a nod. "Y-yeah."

"Come on, we'll try to get their scent." Emmett said.

Jasper and Alice appeared beside them. "We caught their scent, it lead us here and stops here." Alice said.

"What does that mean?" Ichigo questioned, even more panicked now.

"Most likely their scent is masked by another. Otherwise we don't know." Jasper said.

"The others are searching the whole town. They shouldn't be too far. If needed we will search the whole state. The wolves are searching too and if we won't find them, then Carlisle will ask his friends for help." Alice reassured.

Ichigo began to calm a bit.

Jacob ran up to them from the direction of the hospital. "We're doing our best but we haven't found anything yet."

"Their scent stops right here." Alice said.

"Do you have any idea who it might be?" Jacob asked.

"No, but Carlisle might." Jasper said.

Ichigo began to panic again. His fingers ran through his hair, gripping it from time to time. His eyes darted from side to side and his breathing became faster. His heart pounded with fear and worry.

"Ichigo… Hey, Ichigo." Jacob put a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be all right. We'll find them."

"It could be the Volturi… My Lamborghini's engine was literally torn out of my car yesterday at a stoplight and then arrived at my house in a box with a V carved into it." Ichigo said.

"It couldn't be the Volturi. But we'll take the possibility into consideration." Edward appeared at Emmett's side. "The Volturi don't act that way. They are more careful and show themselves when attacking."

Ichigo breathed, trying to calm down but was unsuccessful.

"It could be a provocation." Jasper suggested.

"Most likely." Alice agreed.

"To get Ichigo's attention and get him to do something." Jacob said.

"Come on, we'll discuss this later in the evening." Edward said. "Jacob, it would be best if you took Ichigo home and kept an eye on him."

Jacob nodded and was about to say something to Ichigo when Ichigo growled a bit.

"I don't need protection! I won't go anywhere until I find them!" Ichigo looked angered, which he was.

"Ichigo… It's better if you go home right now… This is most likely what they want." Alice tried to calm him. "They're most likely going to manipulate you with your sisters."

"I will shred them!" Ichigo almost snarled. He was about to use his Shunpo to get away from them. But Emmett had seen Ichigo's Shunpo enough to react in time. He punched Ichigo in the back of his head with enough force to knock him out but not kill him. Ichigo blacked out and was caught by Jacob before he hit the ground. Everyone gave Emmett a 'are you serious?' look.

"What? If I didn't do it we'd be searching for him as well. He's faster and stronger!" Emmett defended himself.

Everyone rolled their eyes and shook their heads with a sigh. Jacob threw Ichigo over his shoulder and then left to Ichigo's house while the others proceeded with the search.


	26. Chapter 26

I'm thinking of throwing in some characters from totally different anime or TV shows. What do you think about including some Shingeki no Kyojin/Attack on Titan, Teen Wolf, Supernatural, and maybe some others? Tell me your thoughts on it in the comments.

Chapter 26

Pain struck Karin's head, and all of her body. She felt extremely sore and dizzy. She observed her surroundings slowly, with half-lidded eyes. She was sure of a few things; there was a large ventilator not too far away, spinning slowly. So this must've been some kind of warehouse, nothing else came to her mind. It was also dark, there was water dripping somewhere in a close distance, or so it seemed to her with her sensitive hearing at the moment. The floor was hard, rough, cold, and wet, most likely concrete. She tried to get up but her body was in too much pain so she fell back down on the ground. She closed her eyes and took a patient moment to remember what happened. That's right. Yuzu and she were on their way to the hospital to deliver their father his forgotten lunch. They didn't make it because…! Then it came to her. Her eyes shot open and she shot up to her feet, but the pain caught up to her along with the weakness so she slumped back down to her knees, giving her more pain. She grunted and took a moment to adjust. She observed her surroundings again. And there she found a petite, familiar form of her sister.

"Yuzu…!" Karin said huskily, and then coughed dryly. Her throat was extremely dry. She crawled on all fours to her sister and sat beside her body when she reached her. "Yuzu," She coughed again. "Come on, get up!" She shook her sister a bit, but then she felt something wet when she touched her shoulders while shaking. She looked at her hands and saw they were covered in som sort of red. Karin's eyes widened. "YUZU!" She turned her sister over on her back from her side, and then she saw it; the horrific state in which her sister was.

There were long, deep, claw marks covering the right side of Yuzu's torso.

Karin sat there, sobbing and repeatedly uttering her sister's name. She pulled her sister up in her arms, holding her close and rocking back and forth, saying her sister's name from time to time.

* * *

Back with Ichigo and the others:

Ichigo's eyes shot open and he gasped. He shot up to sit but a fair of strong arms gripped his shoulders and pushed him back down.

"What the-" Ichigo questioned in confusion, having not yet figured out where he was or what was going on.

"Ichigo, calm down." Said a familiar, masculine voice.

Ichigo's head shot in the direction of the voice to find Carlisle standing near him. Then he looked around. He was in the same room where he woke up after that fight with Victoria and her newborns. He looked at Carlisle. "What is going on? Why am I here? Where are my sisters?" The questions followed one after the other out of Ichigo's mouth as he tried to sit up again, but then the pain in the back of his head made him lie back down.

"Please forgive Emmett, but he needed to knock you out." Carlisle apologized for one of his children's actions. He then sat down on the side of the bed. "Jacob brought you to your house, but then you started having a fit in your sleep. He tried calming you but was unsuccessful, so he called me and I sent Edward to get you." Carlisle sat there, looing at Ichigo. "Ichigo, we need you to stay on the low for now. Maybe this is what the enemy wants, having you angry and that way easy to fool and catch."

"Tch!" Ichigo's eyes averted to the side.

"Please. We will keep you informed of everything that's going on. Just try to keep calm and stay hidden." Carlisle put a gentle hand on Ichigo's forehead. "Your father said he'll be asking some of your family friends for aid."

That caught Ichigo's attention and his eyes were back on Carlisle. "What?"

"Yes."

"Did he say who?"

"No."

"Damn… It's that serious…!"

"He has suspicions and he said that if he is correct, then you will need all the help you can get." Carlisle stood up. "Now, may I trust you to stay here and behave?"

"No promises."

Carlisle smirked, then softly ruffled Ichigo's hair. He left the room and closed the door behind him.

Ichigo decided to use the chance. He shot up to his feet, taking a moment to adjust to the pain in the back of his head, letting out a grunt-like sigh. He walked fast to a window and wanted to open it, but the second his hands touched the frame, he was shocked by electricity. He jumped back on instinct. He looked at his hands, faint steam coming from his fingertips. Ichigo internally cursed. _Fuck! A shinigami spell or some other magic mojo. Fuck!_

They really intended to keep him locked up. Like house arrest, just not in his house. Ichigo went back and sat on the bed, now all he could do is ponder on the things that were happening to his baby sisters and how they desperately need him and he can't come to them because of situation. Then an idea struck him. He decided to contact his Hollow and see if the other can help him break free. But no matter how he tried to form a connection, the other end did not answer. He huffed and cursed some more. Then he decided to contact his swords… No reply either. Fear began to find its way into his heart._ What's going on? Could they be out of my reach because of some other spell? What the hell? Why would they go to SUCH extents!?_ Ichigo's mind was flooded with unanswered questions.

Hey, I hope you liked this. Also have a look at my other story(s).


	27. Chapter 27

Finally! I can continue! Gomenasai for the long wait. *Falls to my knees on the floor and bangs my forehead against the floor.* Gomenasai, gomenasai, gomenasai!

Anyway, I have finally corrected all of the mistakes in the previous chapters! So if you'd like to re-read them, though nothing much but a few sentences changes were made, then feel free to do so! If you pick up any mistakes still, tell me! Either way, enjoy!

Chapter 27

_Flashback:_

_Ichigo had spent days locked up at the Cullen residence. They switched turns watching over him while searching for Karin and Yuzu. But one day, the Wolves picked up a scent that explained everything, at least after Isshin heard from them. The scent was more like a light reek of decaying wolf flesh. Several days after following it, they came to an abandoned warehouse several miles away from Forks, in the middle of nowhere. There, they found Yuzu's body that already began decaying. Karin's scent was present, but she wasn't there._

_Many tears were shed, Yuzu was retrieved for burial. After hearing the news, Ichigo took out his full rage on the hollows in all of Washington. Isshin was sure so much spiritual pressure would come up on Soul Society's radars but no sign came from the Shinigami. Where the hell were they? The hells were they thinking?_

_Yuzu was buried, and Charlie became so serious and angered, he even shouted a bit at Isshin for not telling him, because if he did, the police might've found the girls. With that, there was no way of saying no to Charlie, even after Bella tried to speak with him and hint to him that he was dealing with something extremely dangerous. But her father was a stubborn mule, so in the end, the police joined the search for Karin as well. Everyone was more desperate now, heated up with emotions like never before. What was done to the innocent girls was unforgivable!_

_Isshin contacted Kisuke Urahara concerning what he suspected to be one of Soul Society's abandoned projects stepping up into light. He provided evidence of the smell of rotting wolf flesh, sulfur which was present in Yuzu's blood, flowers of Aconitum growing in pots which were lined up along all walls of the warehouse, making the Werewolves unable to come inside, and which became one of the reasons as to why they went past the warehouse so many times but didn't smell Yuzu or Karin in it. But overtime the wolves became suspicious and called the vampires, that's how the Cullens found Yuzu. But now the wolves blamed themselves for not acting sooner, and Ichigo was angry at them as well._

_In a few days, Kisuke called Isshin and told him what he found. The first two evidences pointed toward one of Soul Society's abandoned projects, as Isshin suspected. The third one with Aconitum plants had nothing to do with the creatures that they were facing. Those creatures were the Okami (werewolves in Japanese) who were a rivaling project created at the same time as the Bounts. While Ran'Tao was creating the Bounts, another researcher, Kuchiki Katsumi (another OC), was experimenting with something a lot like the Modified Souls, only they were more like parasites which lived in animals. The experiments showed that the parasites were most comfortable in wolves, particularly the Ezo Wolf, or also known as the Hokkaido Wolf. The goal was to keep an eye on the Hollow activity in Japan through animals and save more Shinigami that way. Since the Hollows would attack mostly humans or their wandering souls, the Okami parasite would catch the scent of the Hollow(s) with their hosts' sharp sense of smell and contact Soul Society instantly. At times, the parasites could step into battle as well, since they gave their hosts unbelievable speed and strength. The project was thought successful and the competition between the two researchers was won by Kuchiki Katsumi-san when Ran'Tao's project with the Bounts showed signs of failure. But not too long after, the Okami project began to show flaws as well. The Okami parasites were draining their hosts off life and their hosts started to rot while the parasites were still in them. With the signs of rotting, somehow sulfur was produced inside the parasites' hosts. In an attempt to save the parasites, they were transferred into the Honshu Wolves. That seemed to work, but not for long. The same happened with the new hosts, but faster. They all seemed to go rabid as the parasites attempted to survive. They no longer listened to commands and when attempts at approaching them from the hosts were made, they would attack the shinigami. A few were captured for the extraction of the parasites from the hosts, but the extracting failed due to the permanent bonds between the hosts and the parasites. Kuchiki Katsumi tried to defend her project with desperation and buy herself more time to figure out a solution, her 'babies' were too dear to her and she didn't want to end up like Ran'Tao, but in the end, only one solution was made, the extermination of all parasites. That lead to the Honshu and the Ezo wolves going extinct. Kuchiki Katsumi turned on Soul Society when they tried to take away her research data and close down the project, that resulted in her banishment to the World of the Living._

_The news was shocking, Isshin had no choice but to tell the Cullens, the Wolves, and Charlie what they were dealing with, just for their safety. They were absolutely dumbfounded as well by such news, especially Charlie of all of them. Searching became more careful since then. Kisuke had still to tell on how to defeat or at least defend oneself from the Okami parasites, and Charlie was in need of that knowledge most of all. Ichigo was allowed to participate in the search and with him everything was much faster._

_The idea of the rivaling wolf pack was cast aside, but not completely. Leah was questioned, and the poor girl broke into tears because of how everyone thought she could do something so horrible because she disliked Ichigo, but she proved her innocence, or so everyone thought. Tension rose between the wolves as they all seemed to hate Jacob for his delusions about Leah, and it only added to his 'love for vampires', or so they said. He got into a few fights, and the last one was so bad it seemed like a fight to the death. At that time, Sam banished Jacob from the pack, and that was the last of it. Jacob moved in with Isshin and Ichigo, but the question of him leaving the reservation for too long would rise additional problems with the government which were not needed, so it was decided he would build himself a shack at the edge of the reservation and live there, even though he was more than welcome to stay with the remaining of the Kurosakis. Still, he said that they didn't need him and his troubles with their own ones after what happened to Yuzu._

_At one point, everyone thought the wolves would withdraw from the search, and they considered that idea. But after long discussions among themselves, they decided they would proceed searching, but mainly out of the reason of keeping their kin protected from any and all sorts of dangers. Though they still searched for Karin, they were more on the look out for these Okami parasites in any form they may appear, and tension between them and the Cullens increased, since the only connection between them used to be Jacob, and he ceased being that connection when Sam banished him from the pack. Leah blamed herself for everything that happened with the pack because of her hate for Ichigo and how it was misunderstood. So yeah, many feelings hurt and friendships broken as well as tension between everyone rising and all fo them endangered by the mysterious parasite. But how it resurfaced was a mystery, because Kisuke said all parasites and their hosts were exterminated and the data destroyed. But he made a hypothesis that Kuchiki Katsumi somehow managed to bring the project back to life, so everyone was on the look out for her as well._

_A month passed of hopeless searching, everyone began to give up, everyone but Isshin and Ichigo. The police withdrew, but an announcement about Karin was made all over the U.S., and the wolves stopped looking for Karin as well as looking out for these parasites because they thought it was all a lie. They blamed the Cullens for ruining their pack, but Jacob was still unwelcome back into the pack or anywhere in their vicinity. Still, he stayed at the edge of the reservation._

_End Flashback._

* * *

Ichigo lay on his back on his bed with the back of his right hand over his eyes, he stared blankly at the ceiling. The knuckles of his hands were scratched and bruised from the many rough surfaces he hit in rage after hearing the news about his sister. But he didn't care about them and didn't bother putting any medicine on them or covering them with anything. His damp hair from the shower became cold and soaked the pillow with water, he could catch a cold, but he didn't care. His phone and headphones lay near his head, dubstep could be faintly heard in them, but that was in the back of Ichigo's head as well. All he could think about was Karin. He hoped with all his heart that she was alive and cursed the idea of coming to America, he even cursed America itself, but mainly out of anger.

Inside him, feelings of anger were like never before, but on the outside he was calm. It was the first time he was in such a state, that was frightening and everyone tried to be careful with him.

Isshin was in the living room, passed out in front of a tv which was still on. Beer bottles everywhere. He didn't shave for long days, he reeked, and he began to grow fat. He solemnly went to work. When he was at home, he'd cry his eyes out and get drunk. When he was at work, he'd be on edge and would stay for long periods of time. He was desperate in making his every patient healthy because of his daughters death, he couldn't bare any more deaths or even slightest mistakes, so much it was scaring both the patients and his colleagues. One time, he stayed at work from Monday morning till Tuesday morning, without closing his eyes even for a nap, not even blinking. He told Carlisle he'd leave later, and Carlisle believed him. But when Carlisle saw Isshin the next day with a pale color, dry lips, blood-shot eyes, and black spots under his eyes, Carlisle had no choice but to use some of his force to inject some sleeping medicine into Isshin who was protesting against it and send him home with Edward and Bella who were going to visit Ichigo after coming to the hospital with Carlisle.

Jacob knocked on the door, but after no response came whatsoever, he tried coming inside. The door was opened. He wasn't too shocked, but he still sighed and shook his head. He told Ichigo and Isshin to lock their door, just in case, but none of them did it anyway. Jacob would often come visit Ichigo and Isshin, check on them, make sure they did nothing stupid. He silently closed the door behind himself. He heard the tv and went quietly into the living room only to find Isshin passed out on the couch. He grimaced a bit at the man's reek from no shower for 3 days if not longer, but had to sigh. He set the bag of groceries he had with him down on the floor. Esme' got some food and was going to deliver it herself, but since Jacob was on his way to visit them, she decided it be best he delivered the food. She was worried and was right to be, they were in no state to go out shopping themselves.

The Cullens had problems of their own. Renesmee grew gloomy and depressed and that added more gloominess to the whole case as it already was, but mostly to the Cullens. She cried for long days when she found out Yuzu was dead, and she was silent and sad and often cried afterwards since Karin could not be found.

Jacob held his breath. He went over to Isshin and picked him up, threw him over his shoulder, and carried him to his bedroom. Once there, he stopped for a moment when he saw the messy state Isshin's bedroom was in. There were some broken lamps, papers and beer bottles as well as beer cans all over the place, dirty clothing scattered everywhere, bed was not made. He went in and put Isshin down on his bed, covered him with his blanket, then decided to go check on Ichigo.

He saw Ichigo's door was cracked open. He went over and peaked inside through the crack, when he saw Ichigo, he sighed. He opened the door a bit and knocked, attempting to catch the teen's attention, but Ichigo did not budge. Jacob swallowed a bit and went inside. Ichigo's room was a mess too, but at least he washed and changed clothing. And he didn't drink and ate properly, not like Isshin. At least that was a plus.

Jacob slowly came to Ichigo's bed, then carefully sat down on the side of the bed. He leaned over Ichigo, propping himself on his left hand. "Hey..." He tried to speak with Ichigo.

Ichigo did not respond. He kept still, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, Ichigo." Jacob tried again.

No response still.

"Come on, man! Get up." Jacob urged. "You gonna stay like this all your life? Get your ass up and go take care of your dad... He needs you."

Ichigo's eyes didn't blink, it seemed like he was dead for a moment. But then they slowly moved from the ceiling to look at Jacob, who was looking back at him.

Jacob swallowed softly. He didn't know what to expect, but he somehow expected a fight. What happened next, caught him off guard.

Instead of starting a fight, Ichigo just sat up. He hung his head, his damp hair hanging from the sides. It reached to his shoulders in full length now, since he didn't cut it in a whole month if not two. Somehow, he seemed like a helpless child. Maybe that was exactly what he was now.

Jacob sighed. He got up and went into the bathroom. He grabbed a towel and returned to Ichigo. Jacob sat back down and started drying Ichigo's hair. "Your father needs you... You're all he has now."

Ichigo remained silent through the whole while.

After drying Ichigo's hair, Jacob combed it. He stood up. "Come on man, we got work to do around this house. You clean up your room and go clean up your dad's. Oh, and he desperately needs a bath. I'll clean up in the kitchen and the living room along with the hallways. I'll also make you something to eat. Okay?"

Ichigo was still for a while, his head hung, but then he gave a slight nod.

Jacob took it for a yes. "Alright..." He then turned and left to go downstairs.

Ichigo sat there for a while, silent, staring at his knees. But then tears welled up in his eyes and soon he began to cry.

Jacob stopped on his way down the stairs when he heard Ichigo sobbing. He stood there for a moment, then went back to Ichigo's room, but stopped at the door. He wondered if he should go in and comfort him, but then he shook his head and proceeded on his way to the first floor.

A while passed, Ichigo came out of his room. He slowly went down the steps to the first floor. The only thing that gave sign of him crying where his red eyes, but his face was back to its paleness.

Jacob called from the kitchen. "Have you cleaned your room?"

"Yes..." Came Ichigo's low, lifeless reply.

Jacob peeked into the hallway from the kitchen and saw Ichigo was slouching less and his hair was made into a pony tail. Jacob smirked lightly, Ichigo was showing the first signs of life.

Ichigo went to Isshin's room. After opening the door, he stared at the mess inside, then came inside and closed the door. He turned on the water to fill the tub and went to wake up his father. "Dad... Hey, dad." He shook him a bit.

Isshin woke up, his eyes half-lidded. "Whaddaya wan'... Kid..." Came the incoherent reply.

"Get up, you needa wash." Ichigo helped his father stand, then helped him into the bathroom. "Undress and take a bath, old man, you reek." With that, Ichigo went to his father's room, closing the door into the adjusted bathroom behind himself. He started cleaning up, but then he stopped when he heard sobbing. He came back into the bathroom and sighed when he saw his father sitting on the closed bathroom lid, leaned forward with his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped and his forehead resting on them. The man was a bigger mess than his son. Ichigo came to him and crouched down before him. "Hey... Come on, old man. This ain't the end. You still got me!" That only made Isshin cry more. Ichigo sighed. "There is still hope. Until we find Karin, there is still hope. She needs us both, and look at what we had become. We broke down, and now the Cullens are searching instead of us. What does that make us? What have we done so great that they would go to such lengths for us? Come on, old man, gather yourself together and stop being a kid."

"I'm sorry..." Isshin sobbed.

Ichigo sighed. "Come on, get up."

Isshin stood up.

"Now wash and shave. I'll clean up your room." Ichigo was about to leave.

"Thank you, Ichigo." Isshin said before Ichigo exited.

Ichigo stopped in the door way, he simply nodded, then he closed the door behind himself.

Isshin stood there for a while, then he undressed, put the clothing into his already full laundry basket, and climbed into the tub.

Ichigo cleaned up his father's room. Some things, like table lamps, had to be replaced because Isshin crashed them in anger earlier. Bags of trash stood outside Isshin's room and some outside Ichigo's. There was a huge pile of dirty laundry. But thankfully, Ichigo found one last clean bed dressing to change with the old one. The rest was simple: vacuuming the carpet and dusting the furniture.

Jacob knocked on the door and Ichigo opened. "Everything alright?" Jacob asked.

Ichigo nodded. "Dad is in the bathroom."

"Alright." Jacob gave a slight nod. "I was going to make some food, but when I called Esme', she said she'd come over with Carlisle and a few others and Bella will make something. Charlie's coming over too."

Ichigo sighed. "Alright."

With that, the two Kurosakis changed their status from 'half-dead' to 'coming alive'. But the third one had yet to change her status from 'unknown' to either 'alive', or... 'dead'.

* * *

Please read my other stories. I need inspiration to conitnue them and my inspiration are you guys with your reviews, follows, and favs. I really, rEaLlY, ReAlLy, REALLY, hate to leave my fanfics untouched for soooooooo long! This fic is my first and it turned out better than I thought, a lot better when it got into the Top Hits of Fanfiction community, I never even dreamed of it! I don't know if it's because the shows in this fic are so popular or I am such a great writer, probably the first possibility, but still, thank you a bunch for all of your love and thank you for staying with me on this story! I love you all! But I beg you all my darlings, please read my other fanfics! They are like snails crawling after a cheetah (this story) and trying to keep up with it which seems hopeless. So please, don't let me lose hope on those stories. It's you who make my stories so good, not me!


	28. Chapter 28

Several adjustments, I will be going back to chapters and editing the conversations between characters. Main changes will be that I will mark Japanese speech in **Bold**.

Chapter 28

Yoruichi sat cross-legged on the floor at a short table and gulped down noodle soup bowl after bowl. She set the 17th bowl on the table with quite a bang, the base of the bowl even gave a slight crack. "**Aaaaaahh~!**"She exhaled, feeling full at last. She leaned back and supported herself by her palms on the floor. She stared at the empty bowl absently as she pondered. _How are you Ichigo?_ She closed her eyes, leaned her head back and let out a long, almost irritated, sigh. "**Oi...Kisuke!**" She called.

Urahara poked his head from behind the door. "**Yes, love?**"

Yoruichi seemed to wear an irritated, grumpy expression, but if she was blushing at the same time, one would think she was drunk.

Urahara giggled a bit behind his hand fan. "**Love, did the soup make you drunk?**"

Yoruichi sighed, then laid down on the floor. She stared up at the ceiling. "**...How's Ichigo?**"

Urahara thought for a bt before replying. "**He's... Showing signs of coming back to life...**"

"**Good.**" She said as she stared up at the ceiling, then sighed once more and closed her eyes.

* * *

Ichigo stood before Yuzu's grave. He brought her a bouquet of white tulips, her favorite flowers. He stood there, looking at her name carved into the grave stone. He pondered. _Why did dad decide to bury her here? Wouldn't it be best to bury her near mom? Why then?_

Ichigo sighed. He spoke softly to Yuzu's grave. "Yuzu... If you can hear me... Please show yourself."

There was no response.

He swallowed a forming knot in his throat. "Soul Society... I would never wish that for you... Not Soul Society... Not anything." Tears started to form in his eyes. "There's poverty, hunger, disease, God there are even Hollows there! Even there! It's nothing better than here... It's like Japan thousands of years ago..." He sighed and looked up at the sky which was thickly coated in light grey clouds, letting the soft drizzle fall on his face and mask his tears that ran down his cheeks.

* * *

Emmett and Rosalie waited from him in their car at the entrance to the cemetary. They watched him through the windows. Droplets of a soft drizzle pattered lightly against the car's window glass.

"You think he'll be all right?" Rose asked.

"After hearing the full story... About all that ghost shit and him being a God of Death... I think he'll get through it." Emmett replied.

"I mean... It's his sister after all." Rosalie said.

"Yeah, the girl was a sweet lil chick. Kinda makes me wish she was a vamp." Emmett said.

Rose turned her to head to look at him with a look that screamed 'You crazy or what?'

Emmett looked at her, then rolled his eyes. "I know, it's not the best thing either. But then he wouldn't have to lose her completely."

"Emmett," Rose still couldn't believe he didn't understand just how BAD the simple thought of Ichigo's sister being a vampire was. "He's a freaking God of Death. It's his job to deal with souls. Us vampires have no souls! We're like freaks of nature to him! To him, what's dead, should stay dead, lay in earth and rot, not walk around and drink blood of living things. How do you think he'll feel if his sister loses her soul like us?"

Emmett took a moment for the words to sink in. Then his eyes widened with realization.

"God, you're slow." Rose sighed and hung her head, shaking it.

The left door to the back of the car opened and Ichigo climbed into the car. He closed the door after himself.

Emmett and Rosalie turned to look at him. "Ready to go?" Emmett asked.

Ichigo nodded in response. The two vampires turned back to sit in proper positions and Rosalie started the car, then they drove off.

Ichigo sat in silence, staring out the window. The day earlier, all of the Cullens came over not too long after Jacob did. Of course, Isshin and Ichigo were in horrible states, but the vampires were completely understanding. Alice took pleasure in cutting Ichigo's hair. She loved the bright, orange, fiery color of his hair and the soft feel of it, especially after it was washed. They had a talk about their progress in searching. Isshin almost started crying because of how they were so much help and how he was completely undeserving of their help and all. In the end, the vampires came across clutches of what seemed like fur. But when they tried to pick it up, it broke down into sulfur in the form of dust.

Now, Ichigo was going with Rose and Emmett on a search for who ever or what ever was shedding that fur. No doubt, it belonged to either a Honshu or an Ezo wolf. The question was, how?


	29. Chapter 29

If you think I'm not giving enough attention to some characters and you'd like to see them more in the story, tell me in your reviews.

Chapter 29

Light patternless tapping could be heard. Karin was slowly coming to her senses. She opened her eyes to find that her vision was extremely blurry, but she could make out some colors which were bright and some which were dark. She blinked a few times, but still her vision stayed blurry, she felt irritated by it. So she closed her eyes to take a few moments for her eyes to adjust.

As she came to her senses more, she found that she was upside down, or at least she felt like she was. When she opened her eyes, her vision was better, but still fuzzy a bit. But now she could make out some shapes, several of them being tables and what she thought were book cases, and a particular form belonging to a human.

Karin blinked a few times and closed her eyes for a moment. She moved her eyes under her lids so that she would be looking up, but when she opened them, her vision being clear now, she realised she was looking at the floor instead of the ceiling. So her body wasn't tricking her, she really was hanging upside down.

Karin looked up at her body and saw that she was strapped with leather belts to something like an operational table. She was completely naked, dark spots which she figured came from needles were covering her body, but her limbs in particular. There were needles stuck into the blood vessels of her arms and legs. Those needles were attached to some sort of thin tubes, which lead to packs of liquid hanging from drop counters. She frowned, she hated those things. She saw them in movies and in real life, they looked uncomfortable, but experiencing them first-hand was worse.

She guessed the liquid in those packs was dripping into her, but she couldn't feel it because her nerves were frozen and all of her blood flooded down to her brain. Karin didn't know how long she hung upside down, but she knew for sure that a lot of blood in one's brain would kill a person. She swallowed, starting to panic.

Karin's eyes darted from side to side. She noticed different tools which were mostly scalpels and syringes, some bone saws. That made her panic even more. She looked at what she earlier thought to be book cases, and saw that all the shelves in them contained beakers and testing tubes, filled with something or empty. But what horrified her most were glass containers which contained something like colorful smoke, different color in each container. And some of those glass containers contained things which looked a lot like organs, but nothing like those she had ever seen in books or on tv or in real life.

She breathed, trying to calm herself. Then she looked in the direction of the tapping that seemed a lot like typing on a key board. She saw a woman sitting at a table and typing on a laptop. She wore a white lab coat. She had coal-black hair, light skin, and a rather sportive build. Karin couldn't make out the color of her eyes due to the reflection of the screen light on her glasses. But somehow, she thought the woman seemed familiar, or reminded her of someone she saw before... Yes, that guy she seldom saw with Ichigo... One of the Shinigami! He was Rukia's older brother, if she remembered correctly. This woman looked a lot like him... But why?

* * *

"This is where the trail ends." Emmett said.

Emmett, Rosalie, and Ichigo were just outside Chicago. The two vampires could smell sulfur evidently all the way down the high way. The closer they got to the city, the more evident the smell became, but it was too faint for human noses to notice. But just as they were about to enter the city, the smell ended abruptly. They stopped the car at the side of the road so they could discuss th situation.

"This is just another dead-end." Rosalie said. "Jasper and Alice ended up the same in Boston. Carlisle and Esme' faced the same thing in Manhattan. Jacob can't find a straight trail in Forks since sulfur is all over the place."

"I say we keep looking. That's without question." For the first time in several hours, Ichigo spoke up.

Emmett and Rosalie turned to look at him, they were caught off guard by Ichigo suddenly making something more than a sound.

"So it speaks." Emmett tried to joke.

Rosalie glared at him with a 'really?' look.

"What? I was trying to break the ice." Emmett defended.

Rosalie sighed and shook her head.

Ichigo sighed softly. "Come on, give Carlisle a call and-" He was caught off by the ring of his phone. He reached into his coat's pocket and withdrew his phone. The name on the screen said 'Unknown', he answered it still. "Yeah?" His eyes widened when the other end spoke. Rosalie and Emmett heard the words with their high hearing.

"If you want to see your little sister again... You better hurry up." It was a female voice, and it sounded amused.

"Who are you?" Ichigo's brows furrowed.

"You don't need to know." The female voice became less amused and more serious.

"Stop fucking around! Who the fuck are you and where the hell do you keep Karin?" Ichigo shouted.

"Oh, so that's her name... And the other one must be Yuzu." The voice replied.

"Fucker! The hell did you do to my sister?" Ichigo was growing angrier by the second.

"Don't worry, they are great donators to my cause." The female voice assured.

"You can stick your cause up your fucking vagina! Give me my sister back!" Ichigo's skin began to sizzle with his black reiatsu.

Rosalie and Emmett exchanged nervous looks.

"If as much as a hair falls from her head... I swear to you... I won't give you an easy, quick death." Ichigo's voice began to give hints of his Hollow's tone.

"Oh, not just a single hair fall from her head, so I'm wondering how I'm still alive." The woman on the other end replied. "But I'll let you hear her voice."

Ichigo's eyes widened and darted from side to side in anticipation as he awaited to hear his sister's voice.

Rosalie's and Emmett's eyes shot to Ichigo, they looked at him intently.

It was quiet on the other end for a few moments, but then Karin's low, tortured, trembling voice could be heard. "Ichi *sob* nii."

Ichigo's eyes widened more, then they narrowed and his brows furrowed. "Ragh!" He growled in anger.

"Anyway," the woman spoke once more. "You got to hear her. That's enough proof that she's not dead... Yet." The last word was said in an amused tone. Then she hung up.

Ichigo growled and threw his phone in anger against the left door. It hit the plastic of the door with a hard thud and bounced off, the lid breaking off. He snarled and glared at the right door, panting through his clenched teeth.

Emmett and Rosalie jumped in surprise. They exchanged nervous looks. It was clear even to Emmett that it was in their best interests not to say anything. They looked at Ichigo, who shot them both a glare. They swallowed, then Rosalie gathered enough bravery to speak up. "Ichigo..."

"Just go back to Forks...!" Ichigo spat.

Rosalie turned back as immediately and started the car, then drove off quickly.


	30. Chapter 30

**Japanese**

**_Thoughts in Japanese_  
**

English

_Thoughts in English_

Chapter 30

On the whole way back to Forks, Ichigo was silent, and so were Emmett and Rosalie. The air in the car was heavy, but since the two vampires couldn't breathe, they felt it with their skin instead. Ichigo glared out of the window, his lips in a thin line, fingers tapping on his knees, his phone thought now in his coat's pocket. Rosalie was at war with herself as they got closer and closer to Forks. _Go to our house or drop Ichigo off at his own?_ She was getting nervous and Emmett sensed it. He slowly reached and placed a comforting hand on her knee when they stopped at the first stop-light. Rosalie looked at his hand on her knee and then up at Emmett. He gave her a sympathetic half-smile and she smirked at him for his attempt at easing her discomfort. Then the light went green and they proceeded on their way.

Emmett's phone rang in his jeans pants pocket. He reached in and withdrew it, looking at the screen, he saw it was Carlisle. Rosalie looked at his phone, then they both exchanged quick glances, before she returned her eyes on the road and Emmett answered the call. "Yeah?"

"Come home, Isshin is here and we have some guests." Carlisle said on his end.

"Are they in any way helping the search?" Emmett asked.

"Yes, very." Carlisle replied.

"Alright, we'll be back as soon as possible." Emmett said.

"Have you found anything?" Carlisle asked.

"No, same dead-end as you guys." Emmett replied.

Ichigo seemed to snort softly at Emmett's reply. His eyes slowly traveled around the car before returning to the passing by surroundings outside.

"I see... Well hurry up, we're waiting for you." Carlisle said.

"On our way." Emmett replied. Then he hung up. Rosalie didn't have to ask what the conversation was, she heard everything with her high hearing.

"Hey, Ichigo." Emmett turned back to look at the ginger in the back seat. Rosalie's eyes turned to look at Emmett nervously from the corners of her eyes, before returning to the road. Ichigo's eyes shot to glare at Emmett, who swallowed softly. "Carlisle called. He said your dad is at our house with a few other peeps... Have any idea who?"

"No." Ichigo replied, his eyes returning back to the window. But his heart was now thumping with more anticipation of the meeting with these visitors than rage. He was silently hoping it was who he thought it was.

* * *

Edward was the first to know of their arrival when Emmett and Rosalie entered the reach of his powers. He was standing on the stairs to the second floor, but when he felt them, he began to slowly come down to the first floor. The other vampires looked up at him. He walked to a window and looked at the road in the forest. "They're here... Ichigo is in distress..." Everyone exchanged looks. "Judging by Emmett's and Rosalie's thoughts." Soon, the sound of tires on the soft earth reached the ears of the vampires as the car was getting near.

Rosalie stopped at the steps to the house. Then all three started to get out. Ichigo started for the house, and was about to make his first step up the steps when all of a sudden powerful hands wrapped around his neck in a powerful embrace from the back.

"**ICHIGOOOOO~!**" Yoruichi squealed as she tightened her hug.

Rosalie and Emmett were at a loss, they didn't know what to do. At first they wanted to attack when a stranger appeared out of nowhere and seemed to attack Ichigo, but then they looked like they knew the carrot top.

"**Yoruichi-san...!**" Ichigo struggled, gasping for air. The cat woman didn't lose her touch when it came to hugs. "**You're choking me!**"

By this time, the others in the house slowly went out on the porch to meet Ichigo and the other two vampires.

Yoruichi squeezes harder for a moment, making Ichigo almost lose all of his air, before finally letting him go. Ichigo felt light-headed and was about to stumble and fall, but Yoruichi grabbed him by his shoulders and spun him around to face her. She grinned widely with happiness at the dizzy strawberry, but then squeezed him in another love-filled assault. Ichigo gasped and made a few final struggling attempts, before finally passing out. Yoruichi felt him go limp and pulled away enough to see him unconscious. "**Ichigo? Ichigo!**" She began to shake him violently in an attempt to wake him. As that did not work, she started slapping him. "**Oi! Ichigo! Stop fooling around! Wake up!**"

"**Now now, **love.** I think you over did it.**" Said Urahara while keeping his hand fan in front of his face.

Yoruichi made a childish pouty expression at him, then looked at the passed out Ichigo who she still held in her arms. "**I just missed him a lot.**" She squeezed him in a hug again.

"**Yes, yes. Now please bring him in.**" Urahara turned to go back into the house.

Yoruichi smirked and swung Ichigo over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, with no care at all.

Emmett and Rosalie exchanged nervous and confused glances, before looking up at the other vampires who were still on the porch. Edward smirked as he read their thoughts.

_That's how they greet in Japan? _Thought Rosalie.

_I don't ever want to go there if it means getting my neck broken like that. _Thought Emmett. _Is he even alive still?_

"Don't worry, he is." Edward replied to Emmett's silent question. Then he turned to go into the house. The others turned and filed in as well, Emmett and Rosalie started up the steps to the house.

Yoruichi dropped Ichigo onto the couch in the living room. He still seemed to be out of it, so she gave him a slap.

"**Gah!**"Ichigo jolted up awake.

"**Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty.**"Yoruichi said in her usual happy, half-amused voice. She stood there, her hands on her hips, her usual smile, looking down at Ichigo.

The ginger blinked a few times to clear his vision, wondering if he was still out of it. When he realized that the person in front of him really was who he thought they were, he brightened up with happiness. "**Yoruichi-san!**"

Yoruichi raised a brow and looked somewhat confused when she saw Ichigo's cheery smile, then chuckled and smacked him on his left shoulder. "**What's with that grin, Ichigo?**"

"**Oh!**" Ichigo yelped, he jumped a bit from the smack. He rubbed his slightly hurting shoulder.

"**Ahem.**" Came the sound of someone clearing their throat near the entrance to the room.

Ichigo blinked once, he turned to look at the source of the voice and smiled happily. "**Urahara-san!**"

"**Yo!**" Urahara waved with his hand fan.

Ichigo looked between Yoruichi and Urahara. "**But...What are you doing here?**"

"**They're here to help us with the search.**" Isshin explained from the other end of the room, standing more to Ichigo's front.

Ichigo looked at his father. "**Really?**" He looked up at Yoruichi.

"**Yup.**" Yoruichi winked.

The vampires in the room felt a bit uneasy, not know what was being said in Japanese, but most likely something good if it made Ichigo smile.

Ichigo blinked, realizing that the fellow vampires were keeping polite silence while he exchanged conversation with his Japanese friends. "Oh. Sorry." He uneasily rubbed the back of his head. "We just exchanged a few greetings and I asked why they were here... So... yeah."

"It is completely fine." Carlisle said, with a soft smile. "Well... Why don't we all take a seat and talk about your journey to Chicago?"

With that, the creatures in the room moved around to take comfortable spots for the conversation. Some sat, others stood.

"Alright... So tell us, what did you come upon?" Carlisle asked, he looked at Rosalie and Emmett, then at Ichigo.

"I received a call... probably from that very Kuchiki Katsumi who is keeping Karin...!"

Some silence filled the room, eyes were still carefully placed on Ichigo, who was sitting on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, and staring at the carpet under is feet.

"Please continue." Carlisle urged.

"She's insane. She was amused all the while she spoke to me, like it was some kind of game to her." He swallowed. "She mentioned Yuzu... And that she and Karin were 'donators' to her cause!" The air in the room became heavy once more. The vampires felt it with their skin, those who needed to breathe felt it with their lungs.

"**Ichigo...**" Urahara spoke from behind his hand fan.

Ichigo looked at him.

"**Please keep your Reiatsu in check.**" Urahara said.

Then Ichigo noticed soft gasps. He looked to a corner of the room and noticed that Renesmee was softly gasping for air, with Bella and Edward swarming around her, trying to find a way to make it easier for her. Ichigo only then realized he was letting his Reiatsu out, and then he sucked it back into himself.

Renesmee gasped and coughed softly, she looked at Ichigo.

"Sorry..." Ichigo apologized. The look in his eyes really was apologetic.

Bella sat near her child, hugging Renesmee to herself and stroking her head. She looked at Ichigo, then Edward and her exchanged looks.

"Please, continue." Carlisle urged Ichigo to proceed once Renesmee was better.

Ichigo tensed, trying to keep his reiatsu in him. Urahara noticed the tension, it wasn't due to the memory of the call that Ichigo recalled that boiled rage in him, it was his effort to keep his Reiatsu under control. _**This isn't good...**_ Urahara thought.

Ichigo parted his lips to speak, for a moment no words came out, but then he continued. "She let me hear Karin's voice..." He balled his fists, clenching his teeth, trying to keep tears from coming out. "She sounded miserable... In pain... Tortured." Yoruichi placed a comforting hand on Ichigo's right shoulder. He looked up at her, her expression calm and waiting for him to continue. He looked down and spoke the last of what he had to say. "She said that if I wanted to see Karin again... I need to look better... And I need to hurry."

Everyone exchanged looks, most of those being sympathetic towards Ichigo's situation.

Tears filled Ichigo's eyes. He sniffled. Yoruichi crouched before him and pulled him into a light, comforting hug. He hugged her back and hid his face in her shoulder as he cried softly. He felt embarrassed for crying so much in front of so many people, but he just couldn't help it. He was strong enough to face Aizen, but not keep his tears from falling. Everyone looked sympathetic and were quiet.

"This cause you speak of..." Urahara spoke up, this time in English. He and Yoruichi knew fluent English, they spoke it with the Cullens. Everyone looked at Urahara now. "It seems there is something bigger than just the resurrection of an old project."

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"What do you know, Kisuke?" Isshin asked.

"It wasn't the failure with the Okami parasites that caused the project to shut down and have Katsumi-san banished, it was what she tried to keep from the Soul Society by covering it up with her parasites." Urahara spoke.

Everyone listened to him intently with their eyes on him as he spoke.

"As you all may know by know, places like Hell, or Soul Society, which you are used to calling Heaven, as well as a place a lot like Purgatory, which in fact is called Hueco Mundo, they all exist. But they are not the only ones." Urahara said.

"Ya mean there are more?" Emmett asked.

"It seems so... Kuchiki-san was searching for such a place... While she did help in a way, by finding out there is a lot more out there that we don't know about, her reasons for looking for it and her ways of getting to it, were what caused her banishment." Urahara explained.

"Tell us more." Carlisle said. He stood a few meters away from Urahara, arms crossed over his chest, looking at the other man intently as he listened.

"The place she was looking for, is a lot like Soul Society, in fact, that is where souls of those who die in Soul Society go." Urahara said.

Ichigo's eyes widened. "There is such a place?"

"Yes." Yoruichi placed a hand on his head. "And there is a lot to it."

Ichigo looked at Yoruichi, then back at Urahara.

Urahara continued. "As we all know, or not all of us, still I will explain the way this whole other world thing works. Hell is a place for souls that have done unforgiving sins during their lives. Soul Society is a place for souls that have done nothing bad to go to Hell. Souls get there either on their own, or with the help of the Shinigami, or Soul Reapers as the name translates to English, if the souls have unfinished business. Those souls that stay in this world, the world of the living, for far too long for one reason or another, turn into Hollows. Hollows are soul-devouring monsters. Shinigami fight and kill them. When a Hollow is killed, they have a choice of going to two places, Hell or Soul Society. Sometimes, not all sinners go to Hell straight away, they turn into Hollows, and when killed by a Shinigami, then they finally go to where they belong. Those Hollows who did not sin as living humans, or animals, a Hollow can even be an animal, either way, those Hollows go straight to Soul Society. There it is for you, simple explanation of Hell and Heaven. But there is also Purgatory. It's true name is Hueco Mundo, that's the world of the Hollows. Hollows don't just wander around the World of the Living, that would be too much problems for both the Living and the Shinigami. That you can also call Soul Filtration, separation of the Good and the Bad. It has many levels and it sounds simple, but really, it isn't. Those who die in Soul Society go through the same filtration, only on a higher level."

"Wait, wait, wait..." Something didn't click for Emmett. "You mean to say, there is death in Heaven, or this Soul Society place, whatever you call it?"

"Yes. But Soul Society is only the first stage of the Soul Filtration in the full process." Yoruichi spoke up this time. Everyone looked at her, she looked at Urahara to continue.

"Yes, exactly what she said." Urahara said. "In Soul Society, everything, both living and simple objects, is made out of special particles called Reishi. In a sense, that's the physical form of everything there, and the living beings in Soul Society have souls while their bodies are made out of Reishi. When something ceases to exist in Soul Society, or dies if you understand it better this way, its body decomposes and breaks down, their Reishi joining the other Reishi in the earth and air, or where ever in Soul Society."

"Sounds a lot like the words of the Bible, bodies are made of dirt and shall return to Earth." Edward said.

"Good connection, Edward." Urahara smiled behind his hand fan. "Anyway, things decompose much faster in Soul Society, but that goes differently for different things. Either way, even in Soul Society, as souls go there to start a new existence, and some are even born there, those souls can also be divided into the Good and the Bad based on their actions while they are there. After death, the Bad souls go to Hell, and the Good pass onto the next world, the next step in the whole Soul Filtration process."

"So she was trying to figure out the whole system and all of the steps..." Ichigo thought out loud, looking at the floor.

"You are catching on fast, Kurosaki-san." Urahara smiled, his student, he could be both dumb and sharp. This was one of those times when he was being sharp.

"And there's more to it. She was associated with Aizen." Urahara continued.

"With that guy? But he was defeated and captured!" Ichigo couldn't believe that his job with Aizen wasn't over yet.

"Defeated and captured, but not defeated and executed." Yoruichi said.

"You mean to say, she still has hope that he will be free?" Isshin asked.

"Indeed, perhaps that's exactly the case, or perhaps she decided to go rogue on their whole plan and continue it herself." Urahara replied.

"That's why he did all those things... Why he gathered all that power." Ichigo spoke. "He was so desperate that he wanted to force his way up the whole thing to the very top..." He looked up at Urahara. "There is the final stage, right?"

"We don't know, but we can presume that it is so." Urahara unfolded his hand fan and fanned himself as he spoke.

"But how are Ichigo's sisters connected to all of this?" Esmé asked.

Ichigo and Isshin seemed to visibly become pale at the subject of the two girls being brought back up. Yoruichi comfortingly rubbed Ichigo's back as she moved to sit on the couch next to him.

"You see, there has to be a certain procedure if one is to force their way into another world, especially one like the one after Soul Society." Urahara explained. "That procedure, includes the making of an artificial Shinigami, since Soul Society is the world of Shinigami."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "Can that even be done? I mean..."

"Ichigo... You know how the Hollow in you was created." Yoruichi said.

"Yes... My zanpakuto Zangetsu is actually my Hollow who was created by Aizen. He bit my mother in battle and infected her. My dad gave up his Shinigami powers to save her life, and then over the years I came to be..." Ichigo recalled the talk he had with his father of his mother's identity and his Hollow, but he summarized it.

"The Hollow's name was White, as it was named by Aizen. Your mother was a Quincy, who originally was to marry another Quincy to keep the Quincy blood pure, but due to her fight with White and infection by it before it died, she ended up with Isshin." Urahara said, in an almost amused voice.

Isshin blushed and looked away as he recalled his wife when she was young. But then he got dreamy. "Ah~ Masakiiiiiii~!" He was lost in his dreams, but brought back to reality when Yoruichi threw her shoe at his head which bounced off and back in her direction.

"Don't fly too far away." She almost scolded him as she reached down to grab her shoe off the floor and put it back on.

"Woooow, that's complicated." Emmett was getting dizzy, too much information.

"Emmett, don't hurt yourself." Edward sounded like he was actually concerned, but in fact he was making fun of Emmett who couldn't take in so much information so fast and think too hard.

"You challenging me, bro?" Emmett was ready to flatten some pretty-boy face right here and now.

"Love, sometime later." Rosalie calmed Emmett with gentle strokes to his muscled arm.

Edward held his hands up, showing he would pass on the offer.

Urahara cleared his throat. "Anyway, back to the topic." Everyone returned their attention back to him. "There were two ways, create a Hollow or a Shinigami, since they pretty much stand on the same level of importance in the process. Since the Hollow failed, it seems Katsumi resorted to the creation of a Shinigami. For that, she needed twin souls which hold a high enough level of Reiatsu. Twins, are siblings born with a split soul. Basically, there was one soul, but it split itself into two. That doesn't happen often, but it happens mostly due to a high desire of having a sibling or simply missing a sibling for one reason or the other. Basically, it has to do with siblings. So the soul decides to give itself comfort by splitting into two, and being born in two bodies, which understand each other in more ways than regular souls that are born as siblings with bigger age and reiatsu differences."

"How exactly do you know all this?" Jasper asked, he was both suspicious and interested.

"Years of research." Urahara replied, then he continued. "She could choose any other twin souls, but the problem was the level of Reiatsu. Since they are your siblings, Ichigo, they could always sense the ghosts, and since you bore that very Hollow in you, they had a resemblence in their Reiatsu to yours. Karin could see them sometimes, and Yuzu could not see them but could feel them. The split of Reiatsu wasn't exactly even between the two but that didn't matter as long as it was pretty much at an equal level. How you make a Shinigami though... Is by making one half of the soul, or one of the two twins, into Zanpakuto."

Ichigo shot up to stand. "You must be kidding me!"

"No, Ichigo, and please sit down, I am not finished just yet." Urahara said. The explanation was long, but it had to be said for everyone to understand, in one way or another. "A Zanpakuto is a soul inside a Shinigami, or inside their soul. It's like an extension of them, it understands them and knows everything about them."

"Just like a twin..." Ichigo thought out loud, already sitting down.

"Yes, just like a twin." Urahara confirmed.

"But how would you make a Shinigami artificially, if I understand correctly?" Carlisle asked.

"You do understand correctly, indeed." Urahara laughed a bit. "How you make a Shinigami artificially... Is by extracting the souls of the two twins, and combining them into one, or forcing them to combine."

"But why wait? Is she really playing with us?" Ichigo was getting angry again. Yoruichi comforted him.

"She may make it seem like she's playing, but she's clever." Urahara explained. "She is waiting because it takes time for one half of the soul to reach a certain state at which it can transition into a form of a Zanpakuto. The other one she can extract straight away, and then she can force them to combine. They become one, but not completely because it is done against their will. They want to become one, but at the same time they don't because they are satisfied with the way they are as twins, in the end, one becomes a Zanpakuto and the other as a result, is forced to become a Shinigami." Urahara was closing in gradually on the long explanation. "But for it all to happen, they have to have a high enough amount of Reiatsu, which they do."

"But why does she need these Okami parasites?" Alice asked.

"A simple distraction. She knows they are a failure in the end, and she knew all along, so she made a few, but this time in human hosts." Yoruichi answered Alice's question.

"What? I thought you said they worked only for wolves." Ichigo looked at Yoruichi, then at Urahara.

"Yes, they work best for wolves, but humans are the second best host after the wolves. Weird, it is, but that's how they work." Urahara explained. "That reminds me, those Okami parasites are copied off of a specific Hollow parasite which changes hosts from one to another, consuming their Reiatsu and erasing their memories. In this case, the parasites consume the very soul of the host."

"So one of the hosts grabbed my girls?" Isshin asked. "Seems so."

"That reminds me... There was a smell of sulfur in the air when we first looked for their trail." Emmett said.

"But how to do you know all of this about this Kuchiki Katsumi?" Esmé asked.

"It was all in the classified report about her, but back then we thought she worked alone because Aizen messed with our minds well." Urahara answered.

"Come to think of it... Since she's a Kuchiki, won't Byakuya get involved in this?" Ichigo looked at Urahara.

"Captain Kuchiki indeed will get involved." Urahara laughed a bit. "He was furious when he heard another of his traitor family members came back up into light."

"There were other cases like these in this... Kuchiki family?" Edward asked.

"Yes. Another one was with Koga Kuchiki, but that is a completely different case. Irrelevant to this one." Yoruichi answered.

"Urahara-san... I have a question." Ichigo said.

"Ask away!" Urahara said in his usual cheery voice.

"At a point, there were especially many Hollows here. In fact, there actually are many Hollows here, if you come to think of it. Much more than in Karakura, but I haven't come across a single Shinigami. Why is that?" Ichigo asked.

"You see... Kurosaki-kun... This continent is out of Soul Society's reach." Urahara explained. "America is like a black hole which sucks up Reiatsu, and this little town is the center of it. It could be deadly for the Shinigami to go here, they would have to come for a limited period of time, and wear a special gigai, out of which they can't get out or all their Reiatsu will be sucked out and they will die. Yoruichi and I actually are wearing those gigais right now. But that doesn't mean Soul Society doesn't keep an eye on things here. When there are dangerously high increases in Hollow activity here, then Soul Society sends some Mod Souls in gigais created especially for this continent, but that's extremely expensive. But Hollows aren't free here either, they can't stand it here for too long as well, so they come and go. Only young and inexperienced Hollows come here, but when they learn this place holds no souls for them to devour, they leave. Also... Souls here seem to pass on faster than anywhere else, so Hollow transformations here are rare. Probably the reason is the pressure put on them by this whole place, so if they do that, there isn't much reason to come here to reap souls."

"But why is it a black hole?" Ichigo still didn't understand.

"Ichigo," This time Yoruichi stepped in. "This land is big, it is cut off from the Reiatsu network in the other lands wich are combined together, like Europe, or Asia, so it has to sustain itself as well as the creatures living on it. The bigger the piece of land is, and the farther it is from bigger pieces of land like itself, the more pressure is placed upon it to keep itself stable in terms of spiritual pressure. That doesn't work so much for small pieces of land as islands, they are smaller with less living creatures on them, thus it's simpler for them."

"I see... Everything has to be so complicated, doesn't it?" Ichigo sighed, leaning back on the couch.

"Why, not everything is so complicated." Urahara laughed a bit. Then he yawned. "Ugh... I wasted too much energy talking... Let us have some rest now, we will start the search tomorrow."

"You are welcome to stay here, if you wish." Esmé offered with a smile.

"Really? We wouldn't want to trouble you." Urahara was getting all polite and rejecting the offer even thought he very much would like to stay in this beautifully decorated house.

"No, not at all, please stay. We have many free guest rooms." Esmé assured.

"If you insist." Urahara pretended to accept the offer, even though he was all for it from the very beginning. "Ahahahahahaha." He laughed softly.

Yoruichi shook her head, having read through Kisuke already.

* * *

Before going to bed:

Yoruichi and Urahara would be sleeping in one room since the Cullens took them for lovers and the two didn't really protest.

"**Hey...Yoruichi...**" Kisuke seemed pouty.

"**What do you want?**" Yoruichi yawned.

"**Weren't you a bit too touchy-feely with Ichigo just a while back?**"Urahara asked.

"**He was extremely upset so I comforted him. Plus, I didn't see him for quite a while!**" Yoruichi answered.

Urahar still seemed to be making a pouty fish face.

Yoruichi blinked, then put on a half mischievous half amused smirk. "**Oh? What's wrong? Could it be that someone's jealous~?**" She teased. Then chuckled when Urahara huffed and turned with his back to face her, since they were lying in bed.

* * *

Whew... That was... LONG! o.o Lot's of talking and explaining! DX It may take a while for you guys to take it all in, but there you have the full explanation about the case, so the fighting is left for the future chapters. xD

The whole 'next world' thing is inspired by the Fade to Black Bleach Movie. :3 Ichigo's words when he said about death not being the end made me think that perhaps there was something more out there than Soul Society.


	31. Chapter 31

Alright! Here comes chapter 31! Hey, since most of you guys don't want me to add in other shows to the story, this is what I've decided: I will add only the supernatural creatures from those shows, they will be Kuchiki Katsumi's new experiments, but their history will be different. I MIGHT add the characters from those shows, but that's less if I will, I will change their history completely, or work it out in such a way that it will fit in the story, I can do that. I can already see the followers and favorites list shrinking... . But hey, this is my story so I can do whatever I want! xD Little spoiler alert: Because I want this story to be long, which it will, I will most likely write a separate story to follow this one when it ends.

Chapter 31

Ichigo and his father had gotten up early that morning and went to the Cullens' house to decide on the plan of further actions. It was decided that Isshin was going to stay in Forks with Jacob and Renesmee. Isshin and Ichigo humbly tried to reject Edward's and Bella's offer to help, since they had Renesmee and it would be best if they looked after her, but the two vampires were persistent and couldn't be resisted. Urahara would stay as well, but for other reasons, he wasn't up for a fight that much. The rest though, would be going out on the search. Before the search though, the vampires had to go out to hunt.

Ichigo sat on a couch, one leg over the other, inspecting his long forgotten Soul Reaper Pass. He tried using it to leave his body and take on his soul reaper form, but he couldn't. Instead, he could use his powers while being in his body, which meant everyone could see him using his different Zanpakuto, walking and standing on air, using Shunpo, and many other things. He discovered he could walk on water as well, while some Shinigami, who didn't wield the element of water, couldn't. He let out a sigh and hid his pass into a pocket of his jeans.

Renesmee ran up to him. "Hello, Ichigo." She smiled.

He smirked softly. "Hey." He softly scratched her head.

"I hope you find Karin." Renesmee climbed onto the couch to sit beside Ichigo and hugged him.

Ichigo put an arm around her as Renesmee put her head against his chest. What a kind girl, loving, supportive, and comforting. Ichigo let out another sigh. "Yeah."

Carlisle came from his office with letter. It had a red seal on it with a 'V'. He gathered everyone in the living room. "I have news." He looked at the letter, then at everyone again. "A letter has arrived from Volterra regarding Ichigo." Everyone visibly tensed. Carlisle passed the letter to Ichigo.

Ichigo took the letter, opened the envelope, and started reading the letter. Once finished, he sighed, folded it, put it back into the envelope, and handed it back to Carlisle.

"What does it say, Ichigo?" Edward asked.

"They say they sympathize with my loss and are ready to donate their help. Also… Acknowledge me as part of your coven." Ichigo said.

The last was rather unexpected news. How? The Volturi are so strict when it comes to rules and keeping the vampire existence safe. But now, they were acknowledging Ichigo, who is a rare hybrid but no way a vampire, into the circle of vampires? Unbelievable!

"Well this is a first." Emmett said.

"I didn't see this coming." Alice said.

"There is no way they'd do that so easily. There must be a catch of some sort." Rosalie said.

"Whatever it is… They are definitely hoping to get to Ichigo this way." Edward said.

"What should we do? If this goes on, they'll get to Renesmee!" Bella said. She was sitting beside Renesmee on the couch and pulled her daughter into a protective hug.

Edward placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. He exchanged looks with his wife, then his attention turned to a window. "They're here… They intend on helping us with the search."

"How do they know we're starting it today anyway?" Ichigo asked.

"They have eyes and ears everywhere… It's not too surprising." Jasper answered.

"Tch." Ichigo seemed annoyed, more trouble. Then he blinked, his thoughts suddenly changing to the topic if Yoruichi and Urahara knew of these Volturi. He looked at the two of them who stood in a corner. "Say… Yoruichi-san, Urahara-san, do you know who they are?"

"Don't worry Ichigo, we were told everything while you were out searching." Urahara answered. "And in return we shared some of your secrets regarding your family. We had to."

"I see…" Ichigo looked away.

"Sorry, Ichigo, we should've asked you personally." Esme' apologized.

"No, it's fine. Dad and I should've told you the whole thing the first time when you got involved with this." Ichigo said.

The vampire sharp sense of hearing picked up footsteps of vampires running. Edward turned his attention to the door. "They're here." Then a knock came on the door. Carlisle went to open it.

Outside the door stood none other than Jane, Demetri, Alec, and Felix. "I assume you received the letter?" Jane asked.

"We did." Carlisle replied. He took a moment before finally letting them into his house. He stepped aside, holding the door for them. "Please… Come in."

They didn't even bother to nod to show their gratitude for the hospitality, so highly they thought of themselves. They came into the living room, their eyes noticing the werewolf, the vampires whom they already knew, but some new faces as well. There was Ichigo's father, and a pair of beings that smelled a lot human but at the same time not. Demetri tilted his head to the side, eyeing the mysterious, human-like beings. He smirked, wanting to know more about them. Jane turned her attention to a certain ginger finally.

Bella got off the couch and took Renesmee away, to keep her safe and farther from the Volturi. Jane smiled at that, so obvious of Bella. The two parents stood protectively at their daughter's side, soon Jacob standing with them too.

"Hello, Ichigo."Jane greeted.

Ichigo stood up, he just felt it would be better to stand if a fight was to break out. He eyed Jane. "Yeah…"

"Please… Accept our sympathy, we-" Jane started to talk but was interrupted by Ichigo.

"Yeah, yeah, the letter said it all." Ichigo cut her off.

Felix cracked his knuckles. "The kid needs to lower his arrogance a notch."

Jane raised her hand, signing Felix there was no need for unnecessary conflict. Felix huffed and rolled his eyes. Demetri smirked at his friend's reaction. That smirk spoke the words 'don't get your hopes up', at which Felix was ready to punch his friend's nose a few times, it'll heal anyway.

Alec clasped his hands behind his back and cleared his voice, getting the two others out of their own world. Now that everyone was back to business, Jane continued. "Sorry for that." She apologized for the behavior of her two companions.

"Nah… It's fine." Ichigo replied, he kept his eyes on Jane.

"Either way. We are here to aid you in your search for your younger sisters." Jane said.

"You're wrong there… It will be one sister now." Ichigo corrected.

"Oh?" Jane slightly arched a brow.

"My youngest sister died." Ichigo said.

Well… It seems the Volturi were behind on a few things. After all, they weren't dealing with their vampire society now.

"Then that is more reason for us to find the other sister." Jane said.

It seemed that everyone aside from the Volturi wanted to ask them the questions of their aim, but they held back, it was up to Ichigo to decide whether he chooses their help or not.

Ichigo looked intently into Jane's blood-red eyes with his hazel ones before giving his reply. "The more eyes looking, the more chances we have of finding her."

Jane smiled slightly. Mission accomplished, she got on Ichigo's good side, or so she thought. After all, she was spying on him and the others to find out more about the creatures of the world she existed in. It was in the Volturi's best interests to know what creatures existed in this world and what danger they posed to their vampire kind. "We will do everything in our strength to help." She assured.

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	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Ichigo, along with the Volturi and the Cullens who came along, as well as Yoruichi-san, were running fast through a forest, on their way to where, supposedly, Kuchiki Katsumi was confirmed to be. But Ichigo and Yoruichi had to hold back, if they used Shunpo, they'd already be in Boston, but since the vampires were a lot slower, they had to run at their pace. Different thoughts were going through Ichigo's mind... Especially ones going back to the day when he arrived from Chicago with Emmett and Rose to find Yoruichi and Urahara at the Cullen residence.

* * *

_Flashback to the evening of the day when Yoruichi and Urahara met with Ichigo at the Cullens':_

_After the long explanation Kisuke and Yoruichi gave the Cullens about the whole case behind Kuchiki Katsumi, and before Ichigo and Isshin had to leave to their house, there was some time that Ichigo spent chatting with Yoruichi and Urahara while the others talked about their own things. A more or less warm atmosphere set in the house, now that the long explanation was over, everyone could get to planning Karin's saving. But the conversation excluded Ichigo and the other two ex-shinigami, they had other pressing matters to discuss._

_"__**So**__" Kisuke said, "__**How long now?**__"_

_"__**Eh? How long what?**__" Ichigo blinked._

_"__**How long have you been like this?**__" Kisuke asked once more._

_Ichigo's eyes widened. He didn't know what Urahara was talking about, and it was freaking him out a bit. "__**What do you mean? Urahara-san?**__"_

_Kisuke sighed. "__**How long has it been since you... supposedly... regained you shinigami powers?**__"_

_"__**Eh, um...**__" Ichigo gave it a thought. "__**Three years for sure now... Yes, definitely around three years.**__" He blinked. "__**And... Why did you say supposedly?'**__"_

_Kisuke sighed once more. "__**Ichigo... Have you tried making contact with your real Zanpakuto... At least your Hollow? Or should I be saying... Have you tried making contact with Zangetsu and your Quincy powers?**__" (The real Zangetsu is the Hollow inside Ichigo, and Ichigo's Quincy powers are the guy that looks like Juhabach and addressed himself as Zangetsu. It's mentioned in the manga.)_

_Ichigo swallowed a bit nervously. "__**Um... I've tried making contact with Zangetsu, but it was really difficult and lasted for a short time. On the other hand, my Quincy powers don't reply to me at all...**__"_

_"__**I see.**__" Kisuke said. "__**And what about these new... Zanpakuto of yours?**__"_

_"__**Ah, those,**__" Ichigo brightened up a bit. "__**They're doing well! Mekura is the most social out of them towards me... She's nice. Then there's Yuukihime, Akuma, Sakura, Ryuu, and Yuta.**__"_

_"__**Very simple sword names, if you ask me.**__" Said Yoruichi, seeming somewhat thoughtful._

_"__**Ichigo, the problem lies in,**__" Urahara was getting serious. "__**The Zanpakuto you've made contact with.**__"_

_"__**Eh?**__" Ichigo blinked, shocked. "__**Why?**__"_

_"__**Because, Ichigo,**__" Urahara started explaining. "__**They're blocking your contact with your true powers.**__"_

_Ichigo was shocked... Speechless. In all this time, he was so reckless! He got carried away with his happiness of regaining his shinigami powers, if not truly his own since the other Zanpakuto weren't really his. But still, he was so happy that he could use techniques like Shunpo, or flying, or wielding a Zanpakuto in the first place! It made him so happy that he completely forgot about his true powers... Ichigo stared wide-eyed at the floor, his fists clutching his pants on his knees. "__**How? How could I possibly let this happen?**__"_

_Kisuke and Yoruichi seemed to become a bit concerned at Ichigo's current behavior._

_"__**If you didn't say anything... I would probably carry on like this... Never even being able to remember my true powers...!**__" Ichigo was starting to panic._

_"__**Calm down, Ichigo.**__" Yoruichi placed a grip on his left shoulder. "__**There is a way to fix this.**__"_

_"__**How? Please tell me how?**__" Ichigo asked her, seeming desperate._

_Yoruichi sighed._

_Kisuke spoke. "__**You need to kill these Zanpakuto you have...**__"_

_"__**What?**__" Ichigo looked at him, shocked. "__**Why?**__"_

_"__**They are sword beasts, Ichigo.**__" Said Kisuke. "__**You remember the incident with Muramasa, don't you?**__"_

_"__**Ah... Yes.**__" Ichigo looked down again, remembering the past incident when a rogue Zanpakuto, Muramasa, 'freed' the other Zanpakuto from their Masters in order to make a distraction for Seretei so that he could free his master Kuchiki Kouga._

_"__**Ichigo... Your only way to break free from this and regain your true powers is by breaking free from the bonds you have with your new Zanpakuto. And by breaking free, I mean killing them.**__" Kisuke said. "__**Since you let them into your inner world, they won't give you rest until they completely have control over you. And they are already successful in that.**__"_

_Ichigo looked at him. "__**But... My dad said they were waiting for me for a long while now... Did he lie to me? Or did he do it intentionally?**__"_

_"__**Your father's been under their control for a while now too. At first we didn't know what to do,**__" Said Yoruichi. "__**We needed more evidence.**__"_

_"__**Evidence?**__" Ichigo looked at her._

_"__**Yes, evidence.**__" She looked back at him. "__**Evidence that they are the ones that we've been looking for all along... The last Sword Beasts. Since they are the last of the last, they had to become smart in order to survive... And desperate for power kids like you are easy prey... Your father's no different. He may be a grown man, but his mind reminds of a child's at times.**__" Yoruichi sighed deeply after the last words._

_"__**But,**__" Ichigo looked back at Kisuke. "__**We don't have time... And even if I manage to kill them now... What if I'll lose my powers?**__"_

_"__**That's why Yoruichi is coming with you, to keep an eye on you.**__" Said Kisuke. "__**If you lose control, more like... When you lose control, she will disable you and bring you to me so that i can break you free from them.**__"_

_Ichigo's eyes widened. "__**Lose control... Disable me... How far along the road of no return am I?**__" He panicked, his eyes running from Yoruichi to Kisuke._

_"__**Ichigo,**__" Kisuke spoke. "__**The only thing you need to care about right now is saving your sister. Leave the rest to us.**__"_

_Ichigo swallowed._

_"__**Do you trust us, Ichigo?**__" Yoruichi asked, looking at him._

_Ichigo nodded nervously. "__**Ah... Yes.**__"_

_"__**Good.**__" Yoruichi grinned while Kisuke smiled behind his hand-fan._

* * *

Ichigo sighed, there was so much on his mind at the moment. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice a tree and ran into it.

"ACK!" He hit the tree hard as he was running at high speed. He rolled back and hit another tree with the back of his head. He sat up, rubbing his hurting forehead with one hand and the back of his head with the other. "Ow..."

"Really now." The whole group had to stop on their way. "How can you be so careless?" Yoruichi sighed.

The Volturi observed from the side, silently. But Edward knew what was going on through their heads... They were surprised, and thinking of how can a reckless idiot like that pose so much danger for their kind? But as their long 'life' experience showed, it's always better to overestimate than underestimate.

Yoruichi shook her head and rather roughly helped Ichigo up by pulling him up by his hand, then smacking his back. "Are you so excited of a new mission in so long that you ran into a tree?"

"Ack! Yoruichi-san!" Ichigo stumbled forward from the smack to his back.

"Come on, let's not waste any more time." Jasper said. With that, the group resumed their running.

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Review if you want the next chapter. o3o I know there are a ton of lose ends... But I will be tying them up soon!


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Yoruichi's POV

Yoruichi knew something wasn't right with Ichigo when she found out his story with his knew zanpakuto from Isshin, and with Isshin himself not everything was right. The man was supposed to destroy the Sword Beasts when he was a shinigami. Instead, he kept them. The reason was unknown, but she knew that one of them had the ability to control minds. And if she was right, then both Ichigo and Isshin were under its control... She had to act quickly.

The fact itself that an insane, masterless sword was in control of two powerful shinigami was ominous on its own. But what was scarier was that there were more than one sword that had a hold over the two. One of them weaseled its way into Isshin's mind and persuaded him not to kill it, and keep it along with a few other swords.

Yoruichi was already guessing it was a group of Sword Beasts, and then one of them got Isshin to keep the whole group. Then to store the swords in such a way that Ichigo would find them. Somehow, the idea that this had a connection to Aizen did not leave her mind. The zanpakuto could not be actual swords, but perhaps some of Kuchiki Katsumi's experiments that just have the powers of zanpakuto and good acting skills. And the first time that Ichigo discovered the swords, which was when he was nine back in Japan, they already placed their hold on him. They were patient enough to wait several years to get a chance where they can finally have Ichigo place them to use, and then their control would be absolute. But what would Aizen achieve this way, she didn't know. All she knew was that Aizen kept an eye on Ichigo due to him being a hybrid of a shinigami and a quincy, along with a Hollow experiment White in him which Aizen created. Perhaps the swords were meant to take control earlier so that Ichigo would be on Aizen's side when he revealed himself and leave with Aizen to Hueco Mundo, but something must've gone wrong and the swords didn't get a chance to place their full control on Ichigo the first time he discovered them.

But they did manage to work it out so that he'd want to use them, or more like... He'd need to use them. She had several theories as to why Ichigo jumped into the Cullen vs Victoria war. One, it's in his nature to protect the good from the bad. Two, the swords increased their influence on his mind, and made him get into that conflict. In truth, he was one to stick his nose into things when injustice took place, but something this serious... If it was really him, he would do things differently. He would fight differently, and he would probably use a sword that reminded him more of Zangetsu, his good old cleaver. Instead, he used all of them, that's what gave her more suspicion. And if all this is a trap, then Ichigo may be getting right into Katsumi's hands. For whatever reason she needs him, she played her role right to make him come to her. Stealing his sisters, using her Okami parasites to endanger the supernatural beings in Forks, or at least get their attention as well. Katsumi is a wickedly smart snake that never does anything without giving her actions enough planning through. Yoruichi hated such people, or shinigami for this matter, ex-shinigami to be exact.

Yoruichi scowled and Alice noticed it. "Is everything all right?" She asked in concern-mixed curiosity.

Yoruichi quickly pulled on a fake smile. "Yes, yes. All is fine."

Alice watched her for a bit more, then looked away. They were almost near Boston... A few more kilometers and they'd be there.

Ichigo's anxiety was raising by the minute, the real him was boiling up with emotions that caused his riatsu to rise, and it was evident in the air. Since the vampires couldn't breathe to notice the difference in the air, instead they felt pressure that dropped down on them. Since already having experience with it, they shot quick glances at Ichigo, but said nothing.

Yoruichi had to smirk. Perhaps the real Ichigo, the hot-head whose temper was a hot as the bright color of his hair, would overpower the control that the Sword Beasts have over him and finally set his true nature free. Perhaps even awaken his true powers!

* * *

They arrived at an abandoned chemical factory outside of Boston, a rather useful place for secret experiments and other things one would do in the dark. The vampires sniffed the air and growled lowly. The sulphur stench was all over the place, masking the scent of any living being or a hidden enemy. They slowly, carefully made their way closer to the main building. Ichigo was anxious to find Karin as fast as possible, but Yoruichi was holding him back due to safety and secrecy purposes.

"**Hey sweetie~**" Yoruichi heard Kisuke's voice through the bluetooth in her ear. The sudden voice almost made her jump. She exhaled and rolled her eyes, then answered. "**What is it?**"

"**Are you inside the building?**" Kisuke asked.

"**Not yet. But we're about to enter it.**" Yoruichi replied.

"**Great! Listen closely, I'm suspecting that Ms. Kuchiki will be using special heat scanners. That means she'll be able to sense your companions as well as you.**" Kisuke explained.

"**You couldn't tell me that earlier!?**" Yoruichi hissed.

"**Eh, sorry.**" Kisuke apologized awkwardly, but really, he wasn't sorry.

Yoruichi huffed. "**Alright. What do we have to do?**"

"**You will have to catch one of her parasitic specimens and kill it. Then you need to cover yourselves in sulphur from its body. That way, the scanners will read you as her experiments despite your body temperatures and the alarm won't go off.**" Kisuke instructed.

"Alright, change of plans." Yoruichi said to the group.

"What?" Ichigo was surprise and automatically not pleased. He wanted to get inside as soon as possible. "Why?"

"There are scanners inside. They'll detect us if we don't mask ourselves." Yoruichi explained.

"How do we do that? And I don't think we have to time to poke around and find something to hide us." Jasper said.

"All we need to do is find some of those wolves, kill them, put some of their sulphur on ourselves, and we're fine. Or so my partner said." Yoruichi explained.

"Okay… So how do we do that without attracting attention?" Emmett asked.

"Um… Guys." Alice said, looking the other way from the group. Everyone turned to look at her "I think we've already been found." There was a group of five Ezo wolves come from around the corner of the main building. They were growling and snarling, their eyes gleaming brightly. The group prepared to defend themselves, as it would seem the enemy would make its move first.

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	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Everyone formed a circle with their backs to each other. Their guard high, hearts thumping, and sweat stepping out on their skins as the sulfur wolves surrounded them, growling threateningly low. The beasts' eyes flashed with deadly intent, and in a certain second, they leapt at the group all at once.

Emmett allowed his attacker to get close enough for him to smack the animal down on the head, hard enough to make it fall apart into a pile of yellow powder with a particularly disgusting reek. Rosalie kicked the wolf that attacked her and sent it flying until it crashed into a tree and broke into sulfur from the impact of the collision. The others did pretty much the same, allowing the wolves to get close enough for them to end them in one hit. Their faces crumpled up like paper from the horrible stench. The worst part about it was them having to rub the chemical on themselves to mask their scent from the sensors at the door. This was nothing they couldn't deal with; after all, they went through so much more than this. After having coated themselves in sulfur, they made their way for the entrance.

"Stop." Yoruichi spoke before Emmett could reach for the door. The stopped and waited for whatever she was going to say or do. Yoruichi came up to the door, then examined it with her senses. The sensors also reacted to touch. So she estimated the Enzo wolf's height and pushed one of the massive doors open with her knee. Surprisingly, the door opened easily despite its grand size and poor state. She hand-signed for the group to enter quietly in single file and went in first, with them following close behind.

Inside of the abandoned building looked just as the group expected any abandoned facility to look: old equipment, dust, spider webs, rust. Little did they know, that a careful eye was watching them. Ichigo's scowl grew as his patience decreased by half of what he had before. Here he was, ready to kick the shit out of who ever dared to even think of hurting his sisters, much less actually do it. His eyes darted from place to place, searching for a possible enemy. Yoruichi looked around more carefully and analyzing. She placed a hand on Ichigo's shoulder, whose head darted to look at her. Judging by Yoruichi's scowl of suspicion and studying gazes, she was suspecting something. The vampires sensed her state with their sharp senses and increased their guard more.

Yoruichi made a hand sign to initiate their plan.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Before setting out to Boston, Yoruichi worked out a plan for the saving operation. Once she gives the signal, all were to spread out into small groups and work their way to cover as much territory as possible._

_Urahara worked on a drug that he injected to all of the group members. The purpose of the drug was to enhance their special abilities as well as physical ones. The main focus was to enhance Edward's mind-reading to a point where it covers more territory (up to 100 miles in diameter around him) and gives the ability for others to receive thoughts from him should he decide it's needed or if he needs to warn them. Using a communication device would be too risky, so this was the best option. There were side effects of course; in three days, Edward's mind-reading would start failing and he might lose them temporarily. For how long he loses them, depends on how far and how often he pushes himself while being affected by the drug. Since the drug focused mainly on Edward, others would only get by with a minor head-ache and soreness._

_Back to Yoruichi's plan: Yoruichi, Ichigo, Bella, and Edward would be in one group which focused mainly on searching for the enemy or Karin while others first needed to cover more area to let Edward know the enemy grounds, and should they stumble upon Katsumi or Karin, Edward and the others would head their way. Also, should other groups encounter anything and engage battle; others would be notified through Edward and would come to aid. _

_End flashback_

* * *

So they dispersed about the enemy territory in their groups; Edward, Bella, Ichigo, and Yoruichi as the main group who headed for the center of the abandoned facility. The groups were: Carlisle and Ésme, Rosalie and Emmett, and Jasper and Alice. Those three groups headed in different directions just to cover ground and inspect the territory.

Unknown to them, the enemy eyes never left their watch. A soft smirk appeared on the face of their owner as they decided to 'play along'.

* * *

Karin was tomato red from being in an upside down position for weeks now, but what kept her alive were the IVs and life support to which she was connected. This was torture on its own, but it didn't stop there. The humiliation was unbearable: she was never released from her position and being fully naked the whole while couldn't even compare to how she felt after being unable to go to the bathroom the whole while and having to do it just like that out of pure physical need. But her captor didn't even bother to consider the idea of cleaning her, or even let her clean herself. And she was fed once a week, allowed to drink three times a week. She was so skinny, pale, and sickly that the sight alone would make even the most tough of men cry. Karin was struggling to keep her spirits high, to hold onto whatever hope she had left, but it was running out with every second. Her captor on the other hand, to avoid the unbearable stench that came from the unwashed girl, covered in her own waste, simply isolated her with a barrier. There was no fresh air for Karin to breathe… Just her own stench.

Karin's eyes slowly traveled to where the woman who put her through torture was sitting at her desk and smiling about something as she stared at her computer's screen. Karin looked away and closed her eyes, shedding a single tear. '_**Ichi-nii… Save me!**_'

* * *

For a moment, Ichigo felt as though he could sense Karin trying to communicate with him, but the feeling left as quickly as it came. He tensed, his heart racing more. '_**We're getting close!**_'

All of a sudden, Edward sensed something and he felt his heart frozen clench for a moment. His eyes widened as pain filled him. His muscles failed and he fell to the floor, tumbling now due to the high speed he was running at. Bella acted quickly and sped up until she reached him and stopped him from continuing his rolling. She turned him on his back and almost fell back in surprise. Blood was coming from every opening of his body: nose, eyes, ears, mouth, and I mean every because his pants were starting to get red as blood left even his lower regions. Fear and panic overtook Bella. She started shaking Edward, trying o bring him to his senses as tears filled her eyes. "Edward! Edward!"

Yoruichi and Ichigo stopped. They were just as shocked. What could possibly have the power to unfreeze a vampire's blood?

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Oooh~, tension is building up. Want to find out more? Review!


	35. Chapter 35

Chapter 35

"Edward! Edward!" Bella shouted her beloved's name as she shook him in a desperate attempt to wake him. Tears filled her eyes as she got no response. Edward was unconscious and shook limply as Bella tried to wake him. His blood did not stop pouring from his body. Yoruichi tensed as she looked at the scene before her. She's seen this before, but in a different situation. Ichigo looked from Bella and Edward to Yoruichi, then spoke to the latter woman. "Yoruichi-san, aren't you going to do anything? Isn't there a kido that can help?"

Yoruichi swallowed. "I've seen this before… But there's nothing that comes to my mind that can help."

Bella's head shot her way. "Please! You have to help me somehow! How are we going to succeed in this mission without Edward? What if he dies?"

Yoruichi closed her eyes as she pondered hard on what she could do to at least ease the situation. She opened her eyes and came to Edward's side. Crouching near him, she touched his pulse point and that's when her eyes widened. Deep inside she expected this, and it actually happened, his heart was beating.

Bella's eyes widened when the soft sound of heart beat finally reached her. She fell back in shock, propping herself up with her hands. "How… Is that possible? Please tell me it's not his heart beat I'm hearing."

Ichigo simply looked at the situation. No matter how much he wanted to do something to help, deep inside, something was holding him back. He clenched his fists till his knuckles went white. This was so frustrating!

Yoruichi sighed. "There's nothing that can be done… At least nothing that I know of." She mentally contacted Urahara and informed him of the situation, which he already knew about and was working on correcting.

* * *

Alice stopped walking as another vision washed over her mind. Jasper appeared at her side in a flash, supporting her should her legs fail after the vision. Once she was out of it, she looked at her mate with exhausted eyes. "What did you see?" Jasper asked, looking back into Alice's eyes.

"I saw… Karin." Alice spoke with pauses. "She's in a horrible state… And I think I saw her captor."

Jasper grew nervous all of a sudden. "Did you see clear enough who it was?" He could feel and even see by Alice's current state that whatever she saw was not going to be pleasant to hear in any way.

"It's… Emma." Alice finally spoke the name.

Jasper's eyes widened. "Did I hear you correctly? You said Emma? The one who studied with us in high school and entered the same college as Ichigo?"

Alice gave a single nod to confirm the information. Jasper looked lost. He thought that for a moment he himself may grow weak and collapse from shock. Who would've thought? He knew Emma as a nice girl from working with her on a few class projects. She was always smiling and constantly chattering on and on about the most random things, but he liked the girl because she wasn't like others who simply stayed quiet due to awkwardness.

Alice's strength returned to her and she could stand on her own. She cleared her throat and took a moment to make sure her legs wouldn't fail her. She looked at Jasper. "I myself can't believe it… But we'll know only when we see it for ourselves."

"What did the room look like?" Jasper asked. Perhaps he could guess in which part of the enemy grounds to look.

"It was dark. It looked like an abandoned chemical lab. There were also machines… Like large computers. Perhaps even the size of a vending machine." Alice told the details.

Jasper pondered, and then it hit him. "What if it's in the basement? Did it have windows?"

"Yes." Alice's response made Jasper sink into deeper thinking. "But light didn't fall inside. The only source of light was… The computer at which she sat."

Jasper thought for a few more seconds. Then an idea came to mind. "What if it isn't under-ground but the windows are simply covered up?"

"That's possible." Alice agreed.

"Come on, let's go outside and look for windows that are covered." Jasper urged. The two turned and were about to go on the search of an exit from the building when they sensed a third-party not too far from them. They raised their guard, ad soundlessly made their way down the corridor to a large hall. As they got closer, they could hear sounds of heart beat, along with bones breaking and flesh tearing. The coppery stench of blood hit their noses like a brick when they got close enough to the entrance. They made expressions of disgust, and then carefully peered into the room. The sight inside was horrific: the floor was black with dry blood, rotting human and animal organs lay scattered about the place. Some body parts here or there could be made out among the mess. The hall was large, and judging by the many out-lets it had in its walls, it used to be some sort of control center of the facility. They picked up heavy foot-steps getting closer to the hall from another direction and hid behind the large metal door as another leading to the hall opened and a beast they had not seen before entered. It was dragging a man's body after it. It had a muscular human torso, slightly hunched over. It had the head of a wolf and the mane like that of a lion which covered its neck, upper back, chest, and head. It had 4 arms, the top ones being the largest and in length to its knees with the bottom ones being smaller and in length like those of a human. Its legs were shaped like those of a rabbit but its paws were like those of a predator cat. Its fur was mostly grey, only the mane was white, and its claws were black as if polished.

Alice gasped in shock and Jasper embraced her protectively. They exchanged glances and quietly hurried as fast as they could to find the exit.

The beast sent the dead body flying into a concrete pillar, then stopped to smell the air. It growled lowly when it smelled another presence and followed the scent trail. Its eyes flashed a bloody red as fury from missing a potential meal or a sparring partner(s) filled its being.

Jasper and Alice finally found the exit. They didn't stop there though, they had to make sure that they got away to safety so they hurried into a neighboring facility, silently praying that they won't encounter anything ill-wishing there.

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